Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration is a disease associated with aging that gradually destroys sharp, central vision. Central vision is needed for seeing objects clearly and for common daily tasks such as reading and driving.

What is Macular Degeneration?

This is also called age-related macular degeneration (AMD), as the major risk factor for this is aging. It is an eye disorder characterized by a number of conditions negatively affecting the macula.

What is Age-Related Macular Degeneration?

Retinal Drusen

Treatment of Submacular Hemorrhage

What Causes Macular Degeneration?

Macular Degeneration Treatment

Submacular Hemorrhage (SMH)

Macular Degeneration Symptoms

Latest Macular Degeneration News and Research

Popular diabetes drugs do not alter the risk of developing a blinding eye condition

An estimated 27% of U.S. adults with diabetes are using glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) - a type of medication that mimics the GLP-1 hormone - to lower blood sugar and support weight loss. Some research has suggested that their use can reduce the risk of developing other diseases.

17 Jul 2026

New photoswitchable drugs restore light perception in blind animals

Blinding diseases caused by the degeneration of photoreceptors, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP), affect 200 million people worldwide and represent the leading causes of visual impairment and blindness.

15 Jul 2026

Achieve precise, noncontact tissue ablation at low power levels

445 nm diode lasers have already been used successfully and safely for cholesteatoma surgery.

30 Jun 2026

Cone opsin structures offer insights into vision loss

The retina of the human eye contains six to seven million cone cells. These cells contain light-sensitive proteins known as cone opsins.

25 Jun 2026

New eye imaging technology captures clearer details of retina

Modern OCT devices can look inside the eye without a scalpel - but they do not always capture everything that matters. Some critical information is simply lost, blurred by scattered photons.

24 Jun 2026

Natural molecule erucamide helps slow progressive retinal degeneration

Many conditions that cause vision loss share a common feature: the gradual breakdown of the retina, the light-sensing tissue at the back of the eye.

22 Jun 2026

New grant supports research into blinding retinal diseases

A University of Minnesota Medical School research team has been awarded a 4-year, $2.2 million grant from the National Eye Institute to better understand the underlying causes of retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and develop new treatments that could benefit patients.

16 Jun 2026

Novel artificial intelligence technology improves eye disease diagnosis

Non-invasive eye scans allow doctors a zoomed-in, three-dimensional look beneath the eye's surface without causing discomfort or pain to the patient.

5 Jun 2026

Diverse AI foundation models transform universal eye care imaging

Artificial intelligence (AI) has already changed many aspects of medical imaging, but traditional ophthalmic AI systems are often built for a single disease, dataset, or task.

20 May 2026

Study explains how APOE2 gene protects the brain against Alzheimer's disease

People who carry the APOE2 version of the apolipoprotein E gene are more likely to live to advanced age and are partly protected against Alzheimer's disease, but scientists have struggled to explain why.

13 May 2026

Researchers uncover sex-specific metabolic patterns in ocular tissues

As a highly differentiated sensory organ, the maintenance of the eye's physiological functions relies on rigorous metabolic regulation.

11 May 2026

Alzheimer's risk gene APOE4 impacts bone health in females

Scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, along with collaborators at UC San Francisco, have discovered that APOE4, the most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, causes bone quality deficits specifically in female mice, through a mechanism that is invisible to standard imaging and can emerge as early as midlife.

13 Apr 2026

Oral molecule prevents kidney stones and restores survival in mice

Scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging have shown that an orally administered small molecule, N-propargylglycine (N-PPG), can completely prevent the formation of calcium oxalate kidney stones, protect against kidney failure, and fully restore normal survival in a mouse model of Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 2 (PH2), a rare and currently untreatable genetic disorder that causes progressive kidney failure in infants and young adults.

2 Apr 2026

Uncovering the hidden retinal risks of modern dentistry

Dentists are exposed to intense lighting for long hours, but its long-term impact on eye health is often overlooked. This study evaluates whether chronic exposure to dental lighting, especially blue and white LEDs, can damage the retina and disrupt its normal function. By combining human data with advanced imaging and animal models, the research uncovers hidden occupational risks and highlights the need for safer lighting practices to help protect dentists' vision.

31 Mar 2026

Retinal organoid study identifies pathways and compounds to protect cone cells

Scientists led by Botond Roska at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB) and collaborators have identified genetic pathways and compounds capable of protecting cone photoreceptors from the degeneration that underlies conditions like age-related macular degeneration.

30 Mar 2026

Photoreceptor cells can recover from early stages of cell death

Photoreceptors are specialized cells in the eye that convert light energy into neural signals.

11 Mar 2026

Wegovy linked to higher risk of eye stroke and vision loss

Wegovy, a GLP-1 agonist for weight loss, may carry the highest risk of 'eye stroke' (ischemic optic neuropathy) and sudden sight loss of the semaglutide drugs, finds an analysis of unintended side effect reports published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

10 Mar 2026

Buck Institute launches a new initiative to measure and extend human healthspan

The Buck Institute for Research on Aging today announced the launch of Healthspan Horizons, a new initiative designed to address one of the most urgent challenges in modern medicine: how to measure, understand, and extend healthspan-the years of life spent in good health.

6 Mar 2026

Building an affordable toolkit for healthy aging

As people age, they experience a gradual decline in intrinsic capacity (IC), the combined physical and mental abilities that support independence and health. The World Health Organization recognizes IC as a central indicator of resilience in aging, yet no affordable, validated tool exists to measure it.

27 Feb 2026

Smoking triggers epigenetic damage linked to macular degeneration

Through a series of experiments supported by the National Institutes of Health, Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) researchers say they have advanced understanding of how smoking damages the eye and contributes to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading worldwide cause of visual impairment and blindness among people 50 and older.

26 Feb 2026