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Geographic Atrophy

What is geographic atrophy?

Geographic atrophy is  the advanced stage of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This condition greatly impairs your central vision.  If you have geographic atrophy, you’ll have blind spots or waviness in your central view, and you’ll lose some sharpness of vision.

How common is geographic atrophy?

More than 8 million people in the world have geographic atrophy. About 20% of patients with AMD develops geographic atrophy. Geographic atrophy is one of the leading causes of blindness and low vision in the developed world.

Symptoms

  • Decreased vision
  • Difficulty reading or driving
  • A dark spot, or blind spot, in your central vision.
  • Difficulty seeing in dim light.
  • Colors are less vibrant and bright.

 

Diagnosis and Tests

A retina specialist will diagnose geographic atrophy through a comprenhesive in-office dilated exam along with diagnostic testing including fundus autofluorescence, Optical coherence tomography, and fluorescein angiogram.

This is a fundus photo of a patient with geographic atrophy in the left eye.
During the eye examination, your provider will be able to recognize signs of geographic atrophy.

Management and Treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the first medication to treat geographic atrophy. Pegcetacoplan (SYOFOVRE™) is a monthly, or every other month, intraocular injection that slows the progression of the disease. Avacincaptad (IZERVAY) is another FDA approved monthly intravitreal injection to slow down the progression of the disease.

Schedule your consultation with our retina specialists today to see if you need treatment for your macular degeneration.

 

Locations

Livingston Office
349 East Northfield Road, Suite 100
Livingston, NJ 07039
973-716-0123
Map of Our Livingston Office
Morristown Office
95 Madison Avenue; Suite A03
Morristown, NJ 07960
973-605-1114
Map of Our Livingston Office

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Medical advice or diagnosis will not be made through this function. Any medical decision making can only be made and given during a scheduled appointment with one of our physicians.