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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
It's not clear what causes wet macular degeneration. The condition almost always develops in people who have had the dry form of macular degeneration. But doctors can't predict which people will go on to develop wet macular degeneration, which is more severe and progresses more rapidly than dry macular degeneration.
Types of wet macular degeneration
Wet macular degeneration can develop in different ways:
- Vision loss caused by abnormal blood vessel growth. The choroidal neovascularization type of wet macular degeneration develops when abnormal new blood vessels grow from the choroid — the layer of blood vessels between the retina and the outer, firm coat of the eye called the sclera — under and into the macular portion of the retina. These abnormal vessels leak fluid or blood between the choroid and macula. The fluid interferes with the retina's function and causes your central vision to blur. In addition, what you see when you look straight ahead becomes wavy or crooked, and blank spots block out part of your field of vision.
- Vision loss caused by fluid buildup in the back of the eye. Another type of wet macular degeneration, called retinal pigment epithelial detachment, occurs when fluid leaks from the choroid and collects between the choroid and a thin cell layer called the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Abnormal choroidal blood vessel growth is usually not seen when the RPE is detached. Instead, fluid beneath the RPE causes what looks like a blister or a bump under the macula.
- Age-related macular degeneration. American Academy of Ophthalmology. http://one.aao.org/asset.axd?id=29a3f5f4-afa1-41ea-bbc5-0bb01ff1fc9c. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Rosenfeld PJ, et al. Age-related macular degeneration. In: Yanoff M, et al. Ophthalmology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/199400089-5/0/1869/0.html. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Facts about age-related macular degeneration. National Eye Institute. http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/maculardegen/armd_facts.asp. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Arroyo JG. Age-related macular degeneration: Treatment and prevention. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Making the most of low vision. EyeSmart. http://www.geteyesmart.org/eyesmart/diseases/amd-low-vision.cfm. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Schadlu AP, et al. Charles Bonnet syndrome: A review. Current Opinion in Ophthalmology. 2009;20:219.
- Devices to help with low vision. Macular Degeneration Partnership. http://www.amd.org/living-with-amd/low-vision/80-devices-to-help-low-vision.html. Accessed Aug. 10, 2010.
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