Kim Gale  |  October 15, 2020

Category: Interstitial Cystitis

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Older woman gets her eyes checked
Macular degeneration is an umbrella term for a group of eye diseases affecting the retina and leading to loss of central vision.

Macular degeneration does not affect side vision and so patients with this condition do not suffer complete blindness from this condition alone; instead, the central vision gets progressively worse. Loss of central vision affects things like a person’s ability to read, recognize faces, and drive, and also makes it difficult to recognize both color and contrast.

Most cases of macular degeneration affect older people, typically those above 50 years of age, and in these cases is referred to as “age-related macular degeneration,” or AMD. There are some very rare cases in which macular degeneration begins in childhood or adolescence, but these are few and far between.

Macular degeneration diagnosis looks at two different types of AMD, referred to dry AMD and wet AMD.

The most common age-related macular degeneration diagnosis is for dry AMD, accounting for about 80 to 95 percent of all cases. This condition is the slow-moving one, developing gradually without sudden vision loss. The condition starts in the Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE), the layer of cells that nourish the retina. When these cells die, the retinal cells above them also die, which leads to patches of the retina being lost.

The other type of age-related macular degeneration diagnosis is wet AMD, which accounts for the remaining 10 to 15 percent of cases. This disease is more fast-moving, developing when new blood vessels beneath the retina grow wildly, which can cause bleeding or leaking of fluid and scarring of the retina, leading to loss of vision. If not treated right away, wet AMD can lead to rapid and severe loss of central vision in a relatively short period of time.

The main symptoms to be on the lookout for regarding AMD include:

  • Blurring central vision
  • Difficulty reading
  • Blurred, dark, or empty spots, such as the visual effect after looking directly at a lightbulb
  • Distortion, where objectively straight lines appear bent or wavy

How a Macular Degeneration Diagnosis is Made

Macular degeneration is not a condition that typically comes on suddenly, but rather something that develops over time, and symptoms gradually worsen. The best way to detect and diagnose macular degeneration is by having regular eye examinations with an ophthalmologist. The other important thing is to pay attention to any problems with your vision and make an appointment with an eye doctor as soon as possible after noticing symptoms like those listed above.

To diagnose macular degeneration, your ophthalmologist will perform a complete examination and look for early signs of the disease, such as the presence of drusen (small yellow deposits of fatty proteins in the retina), and may take an optical coherence tomography (OCT) picture to better determine the thickness of the retina and identify accumulated fluid from abnormal blood vessels.

They may order an angiogram to look at these blood vessels using a dye injected in the arm and take photographs with a special camera to observe changes in the retina as the dye reaches the eye.

So what can patients with macular degeneration expect, and is macular degeneration curable?

How is Macular Degeneration Treated?

So if there is no macular degeneration cure, how is macular degeneration treated?

Typically, treatment for macular degeneration focuses on symptoms of the disease rather than the disease itself, though they vary based on the specific type of macular degeneration involved.

Efforts to treat AMD generally focus on holding off the worsening of symptoms and prolonging the use of central vision.

Can Macular Degeneration Be Reversed?

People may wonder: is macular degeneration curable? The short answer is no; however, slowing the progression of AMD down is possible. The longer answer is that effective treatment greatly depends on what type of AMD the condition is and how far along it has progressed.

For wet AMD, attempts to address the effects of the condition include taking certain medications, undergoing photodynamic therapy (a type of specialized laser therapy), and laser photocoagulation (concentrated high energy laser light).

For dry AMD, there are no proven treatments available to reverse the effects of the condition. However, there are some methods used to try and slow down these effects, such as taking certain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in the early stage.

Elmiron Eye Damage Cases

In many cases, macular degeneration is simply brought on by age—although there are additional risk factors like smoking or lack of essential vitamins—but recently, a study found that the bladder drug Elmiron has been linked with causing eye damage to the retina as well.

The study looked at a database of 4.3 million patients at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California, and 91 patients specifically who had taken a high number of Elmiron pills for more than 15 years each. Researchers found that 22 of the 91 patients showed obvious signs of Elmiron toxicity, and the rate of toxicity increased for patients who had taken more Elmiron.

About a quarter of these patients had clear signs of eye damage. Researchers noted that retinal eye damage from Elmiron could easily be mistaken for age-related macular degeneration when it is really caused by Elmiron use.

Is macular degeneration curable if it is caused by Elmiron exposure? Unfortunately, there is no cure for this eye damage even if it’s caused by Elmiron exposure rather than age. However, researchers noted that if retinal damage caused by Elmiron was identified early on, the damage could be limited by stopping the medication.

What is Different About Maculopathy Caused by Elmiron?

Female optometrist checks eyes of elderly female patient.Elmiron was approved by the FDA in 1996 to treat people suffering from painful bladder syndrome, also called interstitial cystitis. For more than 20 years, the known side effects included hair loss, upset stomach, diarrhea, headache, rash, dizziness and easy bruising. It’s just been since 2019 that Elmiron has been linked to a certain kind of macular degeneration called pigmentary macular degeneration or pigmentary maculopathy.

Why this occurs is not yet known, but pigmentary macular degeneration occurs when the pigmented cells located underneath the retina begin to deteriorate. Tiny fragments of pigment float inside the eye and into the macula and cause blurriness or distorted vision.

The malady was first reported by Nieraj Jain, M.D. of the Emory Eye Center located in Atlanta, Ga. He found that a half dozen of his patients who had been on an Elmiron regimen for 15 years developed pigmentary maculopathy. He said after looking into their medical histories and trying a variety of diagnostics exams to pinpoint the cause of the malady, he found the one thing they had in common was their prescription for Elmiron.

The FDA has added a warning to its information on Elmiron. The FDA suggests each patient undergo a baseline retinal examination that includes OCT and auto-fluorescence imaging within six months of starting on Elmiron and “periodically” thereafter.

“If pigmentary changes in the retina develop, then risks and benefits of continuing treatment should be re-evaluated, since these changes may be irreversible,” says the FDA.

How to File an Elmiron Lawsuit

If you or someone you love has suffered from Elmiron side effects like eye damage, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation. Of course, filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by vision problems, but it can at least help to alleviate the financial burden incurred by medical expenses, lost wages, and more.

Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, especially while dealing with medical issues, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.

Join an Elmiron Side Effects Lawsuit Investigation

If you took Elmiron and developed pigmentary maculopathy, you may qualify to participate in an Elmiron side effects lawsuit investigation.

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