ABSTRACT
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an
important public health problem. Of the estimated
34.8 million people in the United States who were 65
years of age or older in 2002, approximately 1.6 million
had some form of visual impairment. Approximately
600,000 of these will have experienced a rapid,
devastating loss of vision due to choroidal neovascu-
larization (CNV), “wet AMD,” whereas the remaining
1.0 million may experience a slow, progressive retinal
atrophy and possibly a severe visual handicap “dry
AMD” (1). Most may have difficulty performing
routine visual tasks, such as driving, reading printed
material, or recognizing the faces of their friends.
