Question

My brother has serious complications from diabetes, the worst of them being macular degeneration. Glasses will not help him. He has had laser treatment and that has dried up the back of the eye but his eyesight is still very poor. We are wondering if there is anything else we can do to try to help him see again?

Answer

Macular degeneration is a process of gradual deterioration in the macula, which is the most light sensitive part of the retina. People with macular degeneration suffer from a scotoma, which is the technical term for a defect in the centre of their field of vision. This visual defect gradually enlarges over time until the person has a large blind patch in the centre of their field of vision and a thin rim of peripheral vision. Despite the many advances that modern medicine has made the search for an effective treatment for macular degeneration is still beyond our grasp. There are several experimental treatments available but they are only suitable for a minority of cases and we do not have data to indicate what the long term outlook might be following such treatment. It is important to realise that such treatments will not restore lost sight but will simply attempt to contain whatever sight remains. In other words you cannot restore what has been lost.