Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss and blindness in Americans who are of retirement age. Studies have shown that approximately one in ten individuals in their 50s will display some retinal changes indicative of AMD, and about one in three people in their 70s will show observable AMD changes.
Approximately 20% of those who develop the early and intermediate form of AMD will progress to an advanced disease stage with loss of vision as they age, but the risk for progression is very difficult to predict. This advanced disease can be characterized by dry geographic atrophy (30% of advanced disease cases) or wet choroidal neovascularization (70% of individuals with advanced disease).