CORRELATION OF THE POST-PANDEMIC PERIOD IN RELATION TO THE INCIDENCE OF MACULAR DEGENERATION

Abstract

Macular degeneration is defined as the degeneration of the macula, that is, the center for clear vision.
Macular degeneration is age-related and is the most common cause of severe irreversible vision loss in people over
60 years old. This form of degeneration is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. The macula is the
center for clear vision, a small area in the central retina that allows us central vision. This type of disease develops as
part of the body's natural aging process. Macular degeneration means damage to the part of the eye that is
responsible for central vision and the fine details we see. The changes that occur during macular degeneration are
permanent or irreversible, Permanent damage to central vision. The disease does not cause total blindness because it
affects central vision, thus preserving peripheral vision.
In developed countries, macular diseases are the leading cause of blindness. The most common types of macular
disease occur in: high myopia, age-related maculopathy, juvenile macular dystrophy, central serous retinopathy,
disciform macular degeneration, macular hemorrhages, retinal vein occlusion, and diabetic retinopathy.
Risk factors for macular disease: In addition to age, other risk factors are smoking, gender, ethnicity (whites are at
higher risk), cardiovascular disease, and farsightedness. It is characteristic that when reading one letter or word
appears lower or higher than the adjacent ones.
Regarding the clinical characteristics of the disease, which are also related to the final prognosis in terms of visual
acuity and consequences, it is divided into two main forms: dry form (non-exudative), which has a favorable
prognosis, and wet form (exudative-neovascular), which is present only in about 10% of the population.
The main symptoms that occur are: metamorphopsia (distortion of the image, objects and letters), micropsia
(reduction in the size of objects), the appearance of dark spots in front of the eyes and the inability to see, that is,
patients complain that they cannot see them on the street recognize people's faces, cannot read, and usually turn
away so they can focus on something they want to see.
Treatment for the dry form does not have a special therapy. Frequent monitoring and controls as well as the
reception of antioxidant vitamin therapy from the group of Lutein and Zeaxanthin are recommended in the
prevention of the accumulation of toxic radicals from the metabolism of the cells of the vision center. In the wet
form, intravitreal applications of drugs from the anti VEGF (anti vascular endothelial growth factor) group are
applied, which works and blocks the mediators responsible for the appearance of new abnormal blood vessels.