MACULAR EDEMA AS THE THIRD CAUSE OF BLINDNESS IN THE WORLD

Abstract

Macular edema is a swelling or thickening of the macula. Macular edema is not a disease, but a symptom of a metabolic disease. It is a change in the area of the eye that is responsible for central, clear vision. There are various causes of macular edema. It is often associated with diabetes, where damaged blood vessels (capillaries) due to diabetes leak fluid, including a small amount of blood into the retina. In certain cases, they can also become permeable to proteins. This causes swelling of the retina. Other causes are: senile macular degeneration, uveitis, retinal vein occlusion, side effects of certain medications, genetic disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa. Symptoms of macular edema most often include: blurred vision, changes in color vision, image distortion (straight lines become distorted), and if it is a more advanced stage, there is also vision loss. Diagnosis is made through: visual acuity testing, Amsler grid testing, wide pupil examination, optical coherence tomography, fundus fluorescein angiography. Treatment is most often with an Anti-VEGF injection which aims to block the protein vascular endothelial growth factor which is necessary for angiogenesis. For this purpose, this therapy is applied to prevent the formation of new blood vessels, and thus to prevent the formation of fluid in the center of vision. Treatment can also be with corticosteroids if the edema is caused by inflammation. Therapy also includes laser treatment to prevent bleeding from the retinal capillaries. The goal is to stabilize vision. Vitrectomy is performed in order to retract the vitreous body so that the macula can return to its normal position. Sometimes macular edema can cause an increase in intraocular pressure which is also called glaucoma. In such a case, drops to reduce eye pressure are additionally prescribed in combination with other therapy.