Macular degeneration is a chronic eye disease where the tissue in the macula, that part of the retina that's responsible for central vision, deteriorates. It results in loss of the acute vision necessary for reading, driving, and recognizing people's faces. Although it affects central vision, the condition does not involve peripheral vision, and thus doesn't cause total blindness. In most cases the damage caused by macular degeneration can't be reversed; however, early detection may help reduce the extent of vision loss. The condition tends to develop as you get older, and is the leading cause of severe vision loss in people age 60 and older. It comes in two major varieties: Dry and Wet.

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Dry macular degeneration with drusen

Dry macular degeneration. Macular degeneration almost always starts out as the dry form. Initially a person may notice little or no change in vision. But as fatty-like bodies [drusen] deposit amongst the macula's light-sensing cells, and mottled pigmentation of the macula develops, vision may deteriorate.

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Wet macular degeneration with hemorrhage

Wet macular degeneration. Almost everyone with the wet form of the disease started out with the dry form. The wet form accounts for only about 15 percent of all cases, but it is responsible for most of the severe vision loss. Wet macular degeneration develops when new, fragile blood vessels grow into the macular area of the retina from the layers below. These new vessels leak fluid or blood, which distorts the macula, causing central vision to blur. Objects may appear distorted, wavy, or crooked. Blank spots can appear in the field of vision.