Screening AMD For Early Diagnosis And Treatment
People rarely go blind from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), however, it severely affects the macula causing loss of central vision. AMD remains one of the leading causes of irreversible vision impairment worldwide. There are many risk factors that contribute to this disease such as age, gender, genetics, diet, sun exposure, and smoking. However, risk factors can not allow us to predict which patients are at risk for developing advanced AMD. Advancements in AMD treatment revealed a decrease in the incidence of wet AMD with visual loss due to the administration of treatment targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Frequent injection of Anti-VEGF protein in the back of the eye may inhibit the growth of new blood vessels to prevent leakage. The effectiveness of these treatments makes it crucial to diagnose early and treat patients to prevent AMD from affecting functional vision.
The heterogeneity of disease phenotype and its appearance in elderly people have complicated identifying the determinants of disease. Advances in genetics have helped in understanding AMD risk factors and their relation to heredity. Even though the clinical utility of genetic testing for AMD is currently limited to investigating the disease, a lot of efforts are being made to come up with something sustainable. As an example, recent scientific studies showed a relationship between a specific genetic group and long-term use of zinc, which increases the progression of the disease to wet AMD in patients with dry AMD. “For AMD patients with a specific genotype, the risk of developing wet AMD is tripled by taking supplemental zinc formulations (25 mg per day and higher), which increases the risk of vision loss.”
Screening for AMD by eye doctors ensures the diagnosis is made early and the patient will get the treatment. Moreover, Screening for AMD has proved to be highly effective in reducing blindness. However, the only concern remains cost-effectiveness in order to be able to screen and follow up patients from 50 to 90 years old. Different screening devices, notably portable devices have been developed to reduce the cost providing convenience and enabling new healthcare practitioners to perform AMD diagnostic tests.
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has shown high prospects in health science particularly in the diagnosis of ocular diseases. AI application is widespread in ocular diseases diagnostics including diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, fundus photography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and much more. The application of AI-based tools for the detection of AMD may provide substantial benefits in disease management.