Age-related macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. It is an age-related degeneration, so it primarily affects our senior population.
At age 60 to 70 years, only 0.7% of the U.S. population manifests AMD, but by age 80 to 90 years, it is present in 12% of Americans. This means less than one per 1,000 patients in their 60s will have AMD compared with more than one in 10 in their 80s.
The natural history is slow progression, usually over 20 years or more. Fine drusen and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) disruption with areas of depigmentation and