Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode

I'm going to be talking to you about age-related macular degeneration. And you can find written

notes on this topic at zero-definals.com slash AMD or in the ophthalmology section of the second edition of the

zero to finals medicine book and you can find flashcards and questions to train your knowledge

and help you remember the information for longer at members.0.0.com. So let's get straight into it.

Age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, is a progressive condition affecting the macular

in the eye. It's the most common cause of blindness in the UK. It's often unilateral,

but it may be bilateral. There are two

types. Wet age-related macular degeneration, which is also called neovascular AMD, accounts for about 10%

of cases, and dry AMD, also called non-neovascular, accounts for about 90% of cases.

The macula is found in the center of the retina at the back of the eye.

It generates high definition color vision in the central visual field.

The macula has four layers. The corroid layer at the base contains the blood vessels that

supply the macula, brooks membrane, the retinal pigment epithelium, and the photoreceptors towards the surface.

Drusin are an important finding in age-related macular degeneration.

Drusen are yellowish deposits of proteins and lipids

between the retinal pigment epithelium and brooks membrane.

A few small drusin can be normal in older patients.

Frequent and larger drusin can be an early sign of macular degeneration.

Other features that are common to wet and dry age-related macular degeneration are atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium layer and degeneration of the photoreceptors.

In wet AMD, new vessels grow from the corroid layer into the retina, and this is called

neovascularization. These vessels can leak fluid or blood causing edema and vision loss.

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