Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in people over 60.  With the eye disease attacking the center portion of the eye known as the macula, central vision is generally lost.  Depending on the type of macular degeneration a person is diagnosed with, treatment options vary.

Up until the testing of these eye drops for macular degeneration, typical treatment involved a series of drug injections into the affected eye for wet macular degeneration.  These drugs known as anti-VEGF drugts, are injected directly into the eye affected with the eye disease.

The macular degeneration eye drops being developed are known as TG100801 and is considered a topical drug.  Administered directly into the eye via eye drops, this drug is designed to reduce inflammation and blocks the abnormal blood vessel growth and leakage associated with wet macular degeneration.  This drug is currently in Phase II clinical trials and whether it will be a viable treatment for wet macular degeneration will not be known for up to two years.

With no known treatment for dry macular degeneration, having an eye drop treatment for this eye disease would be a major advancement.

Current treatment for dry macular degeneration has been antioxidants and dietary supplements.  The new eye drop treatment for dry macular degeneration is hydergine.

Considered an antioxidant, hydergine would be administered in the form of drops three to four times a day for those patients diagnosed with dry macular degeneration.  Researchers believe that this eye drop treatment for macular degeneration will help aging retinal cells by reducing the oxidative stresses on the eye.  It is hoped that the direct application of the eye drops into the eye will have more direct impact on the causes of dry macular degeneration.

The development of eye drops for macular degeneration provides patients unable to take injections in the eye hope at saving their vision.  It also provides hope for patients currently suffering from dry macular degeneration who have little treatment options available.

In the eye, the macula is a small area in the centre of the retina, which is responsible for central vision. The macula allows a person to see details directly in front of them and allows them to do daily activities such as reading, driving, watching television, or recognizing people’s faces.  Macular degeneration affects this portion of the vision.

The eye is often compared to a camera.  The front of the eye contains a lens that focuses images on the back of the eye.  This area is called the retina.  The retina is covered with special nerve cells that react to light, just like the film in a camera.

These nerve cells are very close together in the middle of the retina where the eye focuses the images that we see.  This part of the retina is called the macula.

There are two basic types of age related macular degeneration, dry AMD and wet AMD. The dry form of macular degeneration is more common, accounting for approximately 90 per cent of all cases. Generally, this version of the eye disease progresses more slowly than the wet variety.  Both types of macular degeneration damage the macula and take away central vision.

Patients who suffer from macular degeneration rarely go completely blind.  An individual diagnosed with this eye disease still have their peripheral vision.

The dry (atrophic) form of macular degeneration affects about 90 percent of those diagnosed and usually begins with the formation of tiny yellow deposits called drusen in the macula. Drusen usually do not cause serious loss of vision, but can cause distortion of vision. However, for reasons that are not yet understood, sometimes drusen will cause the macula to thin and break down, slowly leading to vision loss.

Wet (exudative) form of macular degeneration occurs in about 10 percent of those diagnosed. It is caused by the growth of abnormal blood vessels beneath the macula.  These blood vessels can leak fluid and blood.  Wet macular degeneration typically causes significant vision problems in the affected eye and can progress very rapidly, causing permanent central vision loss.  “Blindness” can occur as rapidly as a few weeks to a few years with this variation of the eye disease.

The exact cause of age-related macular degeneration is not known.  Some researchers feel that this eye disease may be hereditary, signalling an increased risk of being diagnosed with macular degeneration if someone in your family has or has had the eye disease.  Other research has indicated that being a smoker and consuming too much red meat can contribute to increased risk of macular degeneration.