PU Conference Series: Euretina 2018

" Education and understanding for patients is important. It is perhaps just as important that eye care providers accurately diagnose AMD so that early preventive measures and detection systems can be put in place to ensure long-term visual potential. "

existing and emerging treatments and to the appro- priate rehabilitation services.” The impact of AMD is profound, creating anxiety, preventing people from carrying out daily tasks, and adversely affecting quality of life, according to the presentation team. “Collaboration between all key stakeholders is needed to better under- stand visual impairment, establish the true societal burden and most importantly, to bring new and effective treatments rapidly to patients.” The online toolkit notes that AMD, a disabling eye condition that causes gradual decline of central vision required for everyday activities such as reading, watching television, driving and facial recognition, does not usually lead to complete blindness. Although peripheral vision is maintained, loss of central vision may have a major impact on a person’s independence and quality of life. In a comment on the development of the toolkit, Raza Shah, MD, of Mid Atlantic Retina Specialists in Hagerstown told Elsevier's PracticeUpdate that, "Education and understanding for patients is important. It is perhaps just as important that eye care providers accurately diagnose AMD so that early preventive measures and detection systems can be put in place to ensure long-term visual potential. In 2017, Neely et al published in JAMA Ophthalmology that more than 1 in 4 patients (over 25%) deemed to be normal based on dilated eye examinations with primary eye care providers actually had AMD." Dr. Shah was not involved in the development of the toolkit.

In developed countries, AMD is the leading cause of blindness in people 50 years of age and older. According to the online toolkit, global prevalence estimates indicate that AMD affects 9% of people worldwide between 45 to 85 years of age. Globally, it is estimated that approximately 196 million peo- ple will have AMD by 2020, and this number is expected to increase to 288 million by 2040 as a result of population aging. According to a meta-analysis published in The Lancet Global Health , in 2015 AMD was the third most common cause of visual impairment globally following uncorrected refractive error and cata- racts. The study estimated that worldwide 8.41 million people have moderate to severe vision impairment as a result of AMD. By 2020, this num- ber is anticipated to climb to 8.8 million people.

www.practiceupdate.com/c/74024

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EURETINA 2018 • PRACTICEUPDATE CONFERENCE SERIES