Leakage of serum or blood into fovea from choroidal new blood vessels that have burrowed into retina ("choroidal neovascularization"), which causes...
Reduced visual acuity and distorted vision ("metamorphopsia")
Accounts for up to 20% of cases of age-related macular degeneration
Periodic intravitreous injection of inhibitors of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is effective in retarding and sometimes restoring vision loss
Other possibly effective treatments include thermal laser photocoagulation, photodynamic therapy, and supplementation with zinc and antioxidant vitamins
Instruct patients to report to their ophthalmologist immediately if they notice sudden development of warped or blurred vision because these symptoms signal subfoveal bleeding
Traditional photocoagulation treatments, which modestly reduce pace of vision loss but do not restore vision, have mostly given way to...
Periodic injections of VEGF inhbitors into vitreous cavity (yes, really!), which slow and sometimes reverse vision loss
Stopping smoking and taking daily combination tablet of vitamin C 500mg, vitamin E 400 IU, zinc oxide 80mg, cupric oxide 2mg, and beta carotene 15mg reduce progression of vision loss
