EP #20: Deciphering Macular Degeneration: A Visionary Conversation with Dr. Laura Falco

Unlock the mysteries of macular degeneration with Dr. Laura Falco, as she joins me, Jeremy Wolf, on a journey through the delicate intricacies of the macula and its role in our central vision. Prepare to be enlightened as we navigate the differences between the dry and wet forms of this increasingly common condition. Throughout the discussion, Dr. Falco deftly sheds light on the silent threat of drusen accumulation and how it undermines the sharpness of our sight.

Brace yourself for an eye-opening exploration of the risk factors that could be quietly conspiring against your visual health, including genetics, lifestyle, and environmental contributions. Dr. Falco doesn't just stop at identifying problems; she provides a beacon of guidance on proactive steps for safeguarding that precious window to the world—our eyesight. Her expert insights offer not only a deeper understanding of macular degeneration but also a clarion call to action for anyone concerned about maintaining their vision well into their golden years.

For more information visit: JazzyEyes.com

or contact: (954) 473-0100

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the Jazzy Eyes podcast. Taking care of your vision with expert precision. Here's your host, dr Laura Falco.

Jeremy: 0:13

Hello, hello everyone, and welcome back to the Jazzy Eyes podcast. I'm your co-host, jeremy Wolfe, joined by your host, dr Falco. Mr Falco, how are you doing today?

Dr. Falco: 0:23

Good, how are you doing?

Jeremy: 0:25

I am doing well. Today is Monday and I don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty, pretty Jazzy today. I know you wanted to talk a little bit about a topic that I've heard before but really know nothing about, so I'm interested to get into this to learn a little bit about it.

Jeremy: 0:44

It's macular degeneration, and I know you mentioned there's two types. You have dry and what was the other one again Wet, dry and wet. Okay, that makes sense, right? So we'll get into the wet version, if you will, with Dr Newin in another segment. So please enlighten us. What are we talking about here?

Dr. Falco: 1:04

So, with the population aging and this is also coined age-related macular degeneration I have a lot of patients who have a family member their parent has been diagnosed with macular degeneration. What can we do? What does it mean? And as we are living longer, we have a lot of patients who are getting this diagnosis and having trouble seeing. So, in the nutshell, the macula is the part of the back of the eye that contains an area called the phobia. This is the only part of the retina of the back of the eye that is capable of seeing 2020 vision. You have a retina that lines the entire back of an eye think of like a back of a basketball If you are looking at a concavity like that but there's only one place in the macula, called the phobia, that can see 2020. So when that part gets damaged, you cannot see 2020 anymore. The other parts of the retina let you see 2400. You can see if there's a shadow in your side vision. You can see light and dark, but your ability to resolve sharp vision is in that one place and that one place alone.

Dr. Falco: 2:17

So, as we age, the retina has a metabolism, just like every other body part. There is a waste product that is produced with retinal metabolism and that is called drusen. Think of it like the garbage the retina has to get rid of as we age. Sometimes the retina is not great at getting rid of the garbage and it deposits something called drusen waste product in the macula and the phovial area.

Dr. Falco: 2:47

When you have a coalescence or a bunch of these starting, you have what we refer to as macular degeneration. So there is a physiologic change to the back of the eye, in that area where you can see sharp vision and big risk factors. The most modifiable risk factor is smoking Patients who have light eyes and then UV can also contribute to macular degeneration, but pigments generally protective. So those patients who are at risk are light eyes, patients who smoke, patients who go outside without proper UV protection, especially as you age. So it's not abnormal to have somebody who has drusen. But when we have a lot of them start, then we transition from that to macular degeneration which is in staged like mild, moderate, severe, and it can be very visually disabling for a patient.

Jeremy: 3:49

Now, is this something that obviously it sounds like it affects you as you get older? Is this something that can actually be present in a younger person as well, or is it?

Dr. Falco: 4:01

You can have it, typically know. Typically it's age-related macular degeneration and if you do see the presence of drusen in a younger patient, it's typically a different type of disease process, a retinal dystrophy. You can see something that resembles this in younger patients, but it's typically a different disease process. This is more like you know as your metabolism changes and you know like the retinal metabolism changes as you get older and it can no longer do a great job in getting rid of the waste product.

Jeremy: 4:31

Very interesting. So many fancy terms you threw out there. Is there, aside from the eye collar that you mentioned, is there also a genetic component? Yeah, meaning, if your parents had this, you're more likely to have those.

Dr. Falco: 4:42

Thank you for mentioning that, yes, there is a genetic component to macular degeneration. So when I examine patients who are getting older and they have a family history of macular degeneration, I will run specific tests to do baseline, so that we have a reference point, a start point, so that we can detect a change as soon as it starts.

Jeremy: 5:05

Interesting. Now I know obviously smoking is not good for you, but I'm curious how does that affect this whole process?

Dr. Falco: 5:14

The oxidative damages that go to the back of the eye. Smoking is terrible for everything, so smoking will cause you to have cataracts much earlier different type of cataract and on a cellular level. The damage that it does to the metabolism of the retina is severe and sometimes it's like the last push. Somebody needs to stop smoking, which is great because that's good for their life in general.

Jeremy: 5:43

Interesting. So that is kind of the what right, the what and the why, if you will. I know you wanted to talk a little bit about, actually I think, treatment for this in another segment. Yes, yes, is there anything else you wanted to share before we end here?

Dr. Falco: 6:00

No, I think this is a good starter. I don't want to bombard. This is a good baseline starter. A lot of information, yeah, to process.

Jeremy: 6:06

You always have. Every time we do a podcast, there's always so many crazy words that are thrown around, still process and everything on my end here, all right, cool. So everyone for joining us and we'll catch you on the next episode, take care everyone.

Speaker 1: 6:26

Thank you for listening to the Jazzy Eyes podcast. For more information, visit JazzyEyescom or contact 954-473-0100.