Macular Degeneration

Macular Degeneration

What is Macular Degeneration?

Macular degeneration is a medical condition that usually affects older adults; therefore, it is also called Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). It is a major cause of visual impairment in adults over the age of 50 – making it difficult or impossible to read or recognize faces, although enough peripheral vision typically remains to allow other activities of daily life. In some cases, it leads to blindness.

AMD is characterized by a loss of vision in the central part of the retina, the area responsible for the most detailed central vision, because of damage to – or deterioration of – the retina. Macular Degeneration occurs in “dry” and “wet” forms. In the “dry” (nonexudative) form, cellular debris called drusen accumulates between the retina and the choroid (the area of the eye that contains the blood supply), and the retina can become detached. In the more severe “wet” (exudative) form, blood vessels grow up from the choroid behind the retina, and the retina can also become detached.

Most people who experience the early symptoms of macular degeneration have good vision. The risk of the condition progressing is considerably higher when the drusen are large and numerous and associated with disturbances in the pigmented cell layer under the macula. Recent research suggests that large and soft drusen are related to elevated cholesterol deposits and may respond to cholesterol-lowering agents.

• Pigmentary alterations
• Hemorrhages in the eye
• The appearance of yellow spots
• Drastic decrease in visual acuity
• Blurred vision, which is gradual in “dry” macular degeneration and rapid in the “wet” form
• Shadows or missing areas of vision
• Distorted vision
• Trouble discerning colors, especially dark ones from dark ones and light ones from light ones
• Slow recovery of visual function after exposure to bright light
• A loss in contrast sensitivity

Who is Affected?

Age-related macular degeneration affects more than 1.75 million individuals in the United States. Owing to the rapid aging of the U.S. population, this number is expected to increase to almost three million by 2020. There is a higher incidence of macular degeneration with hypertension, arteriosclerotic vascular disease and diabetes.

What are Options for Treatment?

At the Magaziner Center for Wellness, our first step in the treatment of Macular Degeneration is to restore retinal ocular health to the patient. To do so, we utilize oral and intravenous administration of supplements that are high in antioxidants to help reverse the oxidative damage that a patient has experienced.

We have helped many patients reverse some of the damage of Macular Degeneration after a series of treatments that combined four key antioxidants, namely Selenium, Zinc, Glutathione and Taurine, which is found in high concentrations in a healthy retina. These “super” antioxidants are administered intravenously so that higher blood levels can be obtained by allowing them to bypass the stomach and enter the bloodstream directly.

We often combine this treatment with the use of herbal supplements, such as Bilberry and Lutein, which are integral to good general ocular health, and fish oils, which decrease inflammation and help protect the nerve impulses.

For patients with “dry” macular degeneration, we often administer chelation therapy to help increase circulation and remove any heavy metals that have or may become toxic when they are not metabolized by the body and accumulate in the soft tissues. Chelation is a safe, painless intravenous treatment using the synthetic amino acid EDTA, which has the ability to “latch onto” molecules of calcium, lead, mercury and other heavy metals. These heavy metals, along with EDTA, are then eliminated from the body into the urine.

Often, we utilize hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to help restore the health of the retinal nerves. One-hour sessions of HBOT – which greatly increases oxygen uptake to the brain, nervous system, skeletal muscle, and all body tissues – have been shown, in our experience, to improve visual acuity and/or visual field and enhance the activities of daily life for those with AMD.

Lastly, at the Magaziner Center for Wellness, we recommend a healthy diet and active lifestyle for all our patients. For patients with macular degeneration – and as a general guideline for all patients who want and need to further protect their eyes, we recommend a diet rich in carotenoids. Carotenoids make up the pigment in the macula of the eye and help maintain the part of the retina responsible for the sharpest vision. They also act as a filter to protect the eye against photo-induced damage and free radical oxidation. Studies show that animals deprived of this pigment develop macular degeneration in a few weeks. The following are good sources of carotenoids: kale, spinach, mustard greens, pumpkins, eggs, corn, orange peppers and grapes. Eggs contain the highest amount of both compounds, corn contains the most Lutein and orange peppers have the most Zeaxanthin. Lutein and Zeaxanthin are two very important eye nutrients that may reduce the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts.

Read about some of our patients
A 76-year-old male patient with macular degeneration
Several ophthalmologists and a retinal specialist who examined me said they could offer nothing to help my macular degeneration. The quality of life, as far as my vision is concerned, is greatly improved thanks to chelation therapy.

An 83-year-old male patient with macular degeneration
I have had 36 chelation treatments to date and I am very pleased with my progress. I am now able to work in my woodshop again and can see to read with no problem. I can see well enough to thread a needle.