Ninety percent of people with macular degeneration have the dry type, in which small, yellow spots called drusens form underneath the macula. The drusens slowly break down the cells in the macula, causing distorted vision. Dry macular degeneration can progress to the second, more severe type, called wet macular degeneration. In the wet type, new, abnormal blood vessels begin to grow toward the macula, causing rapid and severe vision loss. Free radicals damage from ultraviolet and blue light from sunlight passing through he crystalline lens.
Free radicals are also natural byproducts of metabolism.
These highly reactive chemicals cause oxidation, and can destabilize healthy cells in the back of the eyes. Free radical damage is accelerated by smoking, chronic fatigue and compromised immune systems. It has caused irreversible retinal damage. Some causes of macular degeneration are treated with laser surgery, but the treatment itself may not effectively seal up a leaky blood vessel without at the same time permanently destroying retinal nerve fibers that pass through the area. According to the National Eye Institute, laser treatment can actually worsen vision, and any ability to slow the progression of disease does not appear until at least a year after surgery.