Age-Related Eye Disease and Ophthalmology
Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Olympia, and Tacoma, Washington
The ophthalmologists at the Bellevue LASIK & Cornea are well experienced in treating the specialized scope of practice known as age-related eye disease, or ARED. Cataracts, presbyopia, glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy are among the diseases most likely to cause vision loss as we age.
Cataracts
The most common cause of vision loss associated with age is cataracts. Cataracts generally begin to develop in people over age 60. Cataracts are cloudy areas that develop as the proteins in lens tissue begin to deteriorate and clump together. Over time these cloudy areas enlarge, causing progressively more blurry vision. Treatments offered at Bellevue LASIK & Cornea offer several options for artificial lens implants that can restore clear vision, often eliminating the need for corrective lenses.
Presbyopia
As people approach their mid-40s, many complain of loss of visual clarity and the need for corrective lenses. It is around this age that the natural crystalline lens begins to stiffen, losing its ability to expand and contract, thus its ability to focus clearly. It is believed that the muscles that control the lens may also lose some tone. The weaker muscles, then, cannot flex the stiffening lens adequately. Treatment offered at Bellevue LASIK & Cornea includes either refractive laser surgery or artificial lens implants.
Glaucoma
As hypertension is to the body, glaucoma is to the eye. Normally, a clear fluid flows in and out of the anterior chamber of the eye. This fluid nourishes tissues and maintains a normal pressure within the eye. With glaucoma, the natural drain for this fluid becomes clogged and pressure increases as more fluid builds up. The increased pressure can damage the optic nerve. Treatment offered at Bellevue LASIK & Cornea reduces the pressure either with surgery or medication in the form of pills or eye drops.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration - AMD
Two forms of AMD affect the vision of about 5% of people over age 65. Light entering the eye is focused onto the macula, located in the retina on the posterior wall of the eye.
Dry AMD is the deterioration of light-sensitive macular cells. Dry AMD cannot be treated, but it progresses very slowly and most people retain some vision. Dry AMD accounts for about 90% of all AMD cases.
Wet AMD accounts for the remaining 10% of AMD cases. Wet AMD is caused by the growth of weak blood vessels behind the retina. Because these blood vessels are fragile, they can leak blood and fluids that can destroy the macula. While wet AMD affects a small percentage of AMD patients, it accounts for 90% of the blindness caused by AMD. Some people with wet AMD, however, have been treated successfully with laser surgery to seal the blood vessels and halt the damage to the macula.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Most diabetics know that diabetes can alter or destroy blood vessels. Among the most vulnerable blood vessels are those in they eyes. When the disease causes fragile or brittle blood vessels to grow inside the eye there is a serious risk that these vessels will break or leak. Sometimes they hemorrhage. As the blood vessels heal, they contract and detach the retina, causing blindness.
Since 1970 the prognosis for patients diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy has improved from a 50% chance of becoming blind within 5 years to less than a 5% chance today. Regular eye exams and good control of blood glucose levels have slowed the onset and progression of this crippling disease.
If you are over age 40 and notice any of these age-related changes in your vision, please contact the ARED ophthalmology specialists, Kent Leavitt, M.D. or Christina Farag, O.D. at Bellevue LASIK & Cornea serving patients in the Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Olympia, and Tacoma, Washington area.