| Wet Macular Degeneration, also known as the | | | | of their vision. Moreover, straight lines may |
| exudative type, is the more severe of the two | | | | become wavy or crooked since the Macula is no |
| types of AMD or Age-related Macular | | | | longer smooth. Peripheral vision is not affected |
| Degeneration, which cause 90% of blindness from | | | | most of the time. The Wet form of Macular |
| the disease but only accounts for 15% of AMD | | | | Degeneration may also result in legal blindness, |
| cases. | | | | defined as 20/200 vision or worse. |
| Wet macular degeneration develops when new | | | | A failure in the waste removal system of the |
| blood vessels, known as choroidal | | | | RPE or retinal pigment epithelium cells (similar to |
| neovascularizations (CNVs) grow from the choroid | | | | that of Dry AMD) is thought to be the reason |
| underneath the macular portion of the retina. | | | | behind the abnormal growth of blood vessels. |
| These abnormal vessels may leak fluid or blood | | | | Lack of nutrients may also contribute to this |
| causing the central vision to blur, as the macula | | | | abnormality but that is still under scientific scrutiny |
| begins to bulge or lift up. Under these | | | | since no conclusive evidence has been revealed. |
| circumstances, vision loss may be rapid and | | | | The most plausible theory at this time is that |
| severe. This exudative form of macular | | | | when the membrane underlying the retina |
| degeneration may also show signs of the dry | | | | thickens and breaks, the oxygen supply to the |
| form. | | | | macula is disrupted and the body responds by |
| Due to fluid accumulation, patients of the Wet | | | | growing new, abnormal blood vessels. |
| form of AMD may see dark spots in the center | | | | |