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What happens geographical atrophy?

What happens geographical atrophy?

Geographic atrophy is a chronic progressive degeneration of the macula and can be seen as part of late-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The condition leads to central scotomas and permanent loss of visual acuity.

What is geographical atrophy?

Geographic atrophy (GA), is an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), affecting the retina, a part of the eye that sends information to the brain to enable sight.

What is Chorioretinal atrophy?

Chorioretinal Atrophy is a condition of the eye where both the choroid and retina are damaged. This causes them to wither away and stop working.

Is geographic atrophy a rare disease?

More than 5 million people worldwide have geographic atrophy, 2 including nearly 1 million people in the U.S. In developed nations, approximately 1 in 29 people over age 75 have geographic atrophy, 3,4,5 which increases to nearly 1 in 4 people over age 90.

How quickly does geographic atrophy progress?

Somewhere between about two microns per year, which is extremely, extremely small. There is a test that we can do as retina specialists. There is a special kind of photograph that we can take yearly to track that area of atrophy to see if it is getting larger or not. It is a very, very slow progression.

Why is geographic atrophy called?

Some patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) will develop geographic atrophy (GA), which refers to regions of the retina where cells waste away and die (atrophy). Sometimes these regions of atrophy look like a map to the doctor who is examining the retina, hence the term geographic atrophy.

What is a Schisis?

What Is retinoschisis? Retinoschisis occurs when a separation (schisis) develops between the two major layers of the retina, creating a blister-like elevation that can be confused with a true retinal detachment.

What is Peripapillary atrophy?

Peripapillary atrophy (PPA) is a clinical finding associated with chorioretinal thinning and disruption of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in the area surrounding the optic disc. It is non-specific and can occur in both benign and pathologic conditions, including glaucoma 1 and high myopia 2.

What does geographic atrophy look like on Oct?

SD-OCT scans of geographic atrophy, reveals RPE thinning, loss of EPIS and COST lines, depression of the inner retinal layers as the outer layers are loss, and increase visibility of Bruch’s membrane and the choroid.

Is atrophy a disease?

When it occurs as a result of disease or loss of trophic support because of other diseases, it is termed pathological atrophy, although it can be a part of normal body development and homeostasis as well….

Atrophy
Specialty Pathology
Symptoms Loss of body cells, signs of ageing
Types Muscular atrophy, gland atrophy

Is Peripapillary atrophy common?

2 This pigment disturbance or mottling represents chorioretinal atrophy around the optic disc. This chorioretinal atrophy is known as peri-papillary or para-papillary atrophy (PPA), and is a relatively common finding.

What causes Peripapillary atrophy?

What is the medical dictionary definition of Atrophia?

1. decrease in size of a normally developed organ or tissue; see also wasting. 2. to undergo or cause such a decrease. adj., adj atroph´ic. acute yellow atrophy massive hepatic necrosis. circumscribed cerebral atrophy pick’s disease.

How does perifoveal atrophy affect visual acuity?

Perifoveal atrophy affects visual performance, including reading, driving, and low-light vision, 6, 7, 8 whereas foveal involvement may profoundly affect central visual acuity (VA).5 To date, there are no approved treatments to reverse, prevent, or reduce the rate of GA progression, although several potential therapies are in clinical trials.

What does it mean to have geographic atrophy?

Geographic atrophy is defined by the presence of sharply demarcated atrophic lesions of the outer retina, resulting from loss of photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and underlying choriocapillaris.

What does it mean to have cerebral atrophy?

Related Information. Cerebral atrophy is a common feature of many of the diseases that affect the brain. Atrophy of any tissue means loss of cells. In brain tissue, atrophy describes a loss of neurons and the connections between them.