These four disorders are all leading causes of vision loss:
- Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)—a loss of central vision caused by changes in the eye’s macula, a small area at the center of the retina that’s responsible for sharp, central vision.
- Cataract—a cloudiness of the lens that can lead to visual impairment
- Diabetic retinopathy—damage to small blood vessels in the retina resulting from the chronic high glucose levels in people with poorly controlled diabetes
- Glaucoma—damage to the optic nerve, often caused by elevated pressure inside the eye
To read more about all of these conditions, see Common Eye Disorders: Cataracts, Glaucoma, AMD.
This article first appeared in the November 2019 issue of UC Berkeley Health After 50.
Published November 22, 2019