Health maintenance issues of the elderly. Vision: age-related macular degeneration.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible severe visual loss in the United States among persons over 50 years old. The majority of patients who develop severe visual loss from AMD have exudative disease. Treatment for AMD has been shown to be effective for only a small portion of patients who have well-defined choroidal neovascular membranes (CNVM) outside the foveal center. Even when successfully treated, severe visual loss is postponed for only about 18 months because of the high rate of recurrent CNVMs extending through the fovea. Presently, low-vision aids are the only treatment available for the majority of patients with exudative disease.