LEARN ABOUT AMD

Millions of Americans are all too familiar with age-related macular degeneration, also known as AMD. Currently, an estimated 1.75 million people in the United States have advanced dry or wet AMD, and greater than 7 million more people are believed to have early stages of the disease.1

Its economic, social and personal toll is enormous, and even with rehabilitation to maintain quality of life, AMD’s consequences can be devastating.

AMD is a leading cause of legal blindness and severe vision loss in Americans over the age of 50, contributing to the $4 billion that blindness and vision impairment cost the U.S. government each year.2    Specifically, societal costs associated with AMD can include the direct, tangible costs of screening, treatment and, to a lesser degree, rehabilitation. This combination has been estimated at a minimum of $7,150 per person each year. Beyond the economic costs, AMD also has serious emotional consequences for those who lose vision, their families and caregivers. Not only are people with vision loss or impairment at significant risk for isolation and depression, their family members often experience feelings of guilt, fear, frustration and anger.3

In the coming years, it is anticipated that AMD’s toll will be even greater. With the aging of the Baby Boom population, diagnoses are expected to double by 2020.4  Fortunately, a number of organizations, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, are making efforts to increase awareness of AMD and its risk factors, prevention, diagnosis and treatment, as well as vision rehabilitation to address the functional deficits caused by vision loss. At the same time, promising new FDA-approved and investigational treatments may have the potential to reduce the devastating effects of AMD for patients and to offer the medical community a new paradigm of care.

As the fight against AMD gains momentum, some of the most powerful weapons are knowledge and awareness.  This guide is intended to help you get to know AMD so that you can provide your readers or viewers with important information that could help them understand their risk factors, know what to do to minimize risk and understand when and where to seek professional help.