Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in patients over 60 in the United States and a leading cause of vision loss in the world. Patients with early forms of the disease may see wavy lines or distorted vision and have difficulty seeing and reading. Those affected by advanced disease have loss of central vision and cannot see the object they are trying to focus on. For elderly patients, the inability to read correlates with loss of independence, disability, depression, increased risk of falls, and mortality.  Advanced macular degeneration is either geographic atrophy (the dry type) or wet macular degeneration, which is treated with frequent injection therapy.

There are no current treatments for patients with intermediate dry macular degeneration.  AREDS2 (age-related eye disease study 2) vitamins are recommended for moderate disease. Currently, 196 million patients worldwide have early stages of the disease. The number of patients with geographic atrophy is 5 million worldwide, with 1 million in the United States, and this number is projected to double by 2040 given the aging population. 

Over time, the drusen accumulate and can cause cell death in the macula (in the black circle), a condition called geographic atrophy.

At this stage, the faces of loved ones can be missing or distorted.