Based in Vero Beach, Florida, Quinton Oswald worked in the pharmaceuticals industry for decades. Helping to launch multiple new medications, Quinton Oswald brought the drug Lucentis, which treats wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), to market. AMD is an eye condition that can be identified and treated early.
Macular degeneration negatively impacts a patient’s vision by damaging part of their eyes over time. Specifically the retina, in the back of the eye socket, suffers damage which reduces the patient’s field and quality of vision. The two types of AMD, dry and wet, share some causes including age, family history of acquiring the condition, and lifestyle.
Dry AMD, the first and less severe type affects the macula, the center of the retina, responsible for central vision and occurs most often in patients over 50. The condition progresses gradually and usually begins in one eye before progressing to the other so patients might not notice it because the undamaged eye compensates for the damaged one. Symptoms of dry AMD include words appearing blurry, a well-defined blurry or blind spot in the patient’s central field of vision, and colors appearing less intense. To identify dry AMD your doctor might perform an eye exam where they look for drusen, yellow spots on the macula marking damage to light-sensitive cells.
Wet AMD occurs after dry AMD, and is more severe because it may cause greater vision loss. Caused by the growth of additional blood vessels in the retina, or the leaking of those or preexisting blood vessels into the macula, wet AMD shares symptoms with dry AMD, but they manifest more rapidly. Wet AMD shares the same risk factors as dry AMD.
Macular degeneration negatively impacts a patient’s vision by damaging part of their eyes over time. Specifically the retina, in the back of the eye socket, suffers damage which reduces the patient’s field and quality of vision. The two types of AMD, dry and wet, share some causes including age, family history of acquiring the condition, and lifestyle.
Dry AMD, the first and less severe type affects the macula, the center of the retina, responsible for central vision and occurs most often in patients over 50. The condition progresses gradually and usually begins in one eye before progressing to the other so patients might not notice it because the undamaged eye compensates for the damaged one. Symptoms of dry AMD include words appearing blurry, a well-defined blurry or blind spot in the patient’s central field of vision, and colors appearing less intense. To identify dry AMD your doctor might perform an eye exam where they look for drusen, yellow spots on the macula marking damage to light-sensitive cells.
Wet AMD occurs after dry AMD, and is more severe because it may cause greater vision loss. Caused by the growth of additional blood vessels in the retina, or the leaking of those or preexisting blood vessels into the macula, wet AMD shares symptoms with dry AMD, but they manifest more rapidly. Wet AMD shares the same risk factors as dry AMD.
