Eye health professionals are always focusing on the prevention of eye diseases; ensuring that patients avoid losing their sight is of the highest priority.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a condition which usually damages the sight of older adults, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that only people in the 60+ age group should be screened.
As discussed in the Wall Street Journal article The Crucial Years for Protecting Your Eye Health, vision problems could be occurring in people in their forties.
By testing for low macular pigment in patients at this time in their lives, optometrists will be able to effectively prevent AMD before they need to intervene.
Painful intervention
The current treatment for wet AMD is the drug Lucentis, administered as a monthly intravenous injection through the vitreous humour of the eye. These treatments are often distressing for the patient and can cause eye pain.
Another effect is that by allowing AMD to progress to the stage that Lucentis is needed, eye care professionals are placing additional burden on other health and social care services.
Prevention of AMD through screening
By using the accurate 90-second macular pigment screening provided by the MPS II, optometrists are able to quickly detect patients at risk of developing AMD. They can advise on simple changes to diet and prescribe supplementation which will delay or even prevent the onset of the disease.