What is Diabetic maculopathy?

• Diabetic maculopathy is the commonest cause of visual loss in diabetic patients.
• Fluid accumulation leads to swelling in the macula which is the area concerned with vision. It may be focal, diffuse or ischemic.
• Focal-focal leakage from the microaneurysms which leads to localized swelling.
• Which will cause sudden loss of vision and will require major surgery at the earliest, to prevent further loss of vision.
• Sometimes the central part of the retina (macula) may be affected by macular degeneration or choraidalneovascular membrane.

What is Age related Macular degeneration(ARMD)?

Affects people usually over 60 years of age and is a leading cause of blindness in elderly people

What are the symptoms of ARMD?

What are the types of Age related Macular Degeneration?

Dry type (drusen)

• Most common cause of vision loss in old age, visual loss is usually gradual.
• This occurs due to accumulation of a specific material in the ageing cells in the macula as a result of this the cells do not work normally and vision becomes blurred.
• Treatment:
• Some patients benefit with systemic antioxidant or macronutrient vitamins for the retina.

Wet Type (choroidal Neovascular Membrane)

• This occurs in 10-15% of patients with ARMD but the loss of vision is more profound and may also be sudden sometimes.
• This occurs due to formation of a membrane or layer of new blood vessels called Choroidal neovascular membrane (CNVM) which occurs beneath the retina. These new blood vessels can leak blood or fluid that leads to loss of vision and distortion.
• What are the investigations for ARMD ? FFA and OCT

Can Wet AMD be treated?

Treatment initiated at the earliest stabilizes the vision. Various modes of treatment include:

• Laser photocoagulation
• Photodynamic therapy (PDT)
• Intravitreal injection of Anti-VEGF drugs( Lucentis or Macugen or Avastin)
• Combination therapy or mono therapy will be decided by the retinal specialist.
• Usually a Combination therapy of any two of the above is done.