While depression is not uncommon among elderly patients with macular degeneration, help is available. People with serious eye disease often learn to maximize their human potential and live independent, productive lives.
Yet this heartening reality is sometimes overlooked in the popular media's dramatic depictions of people facing vision loss. One example was NBC's popular program, "ER," which broadcast a series of fictional episodes about a man with macular degeneration. The man commits suicide after accidentally cutting himself while preparing dinner.
This tragic outcome drew strong criticism from vision experts like Barbara Silverstone, president and CEO of Lighthouse International, a non-profit resource on vision impairment and vision rehabilitation.
"To sensationalize vision loss by having the character choose suicide because of his vision impairment, when very effective options for living a full life are available, is most unfortunate," she said.
James C. Folk, M.D., a University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics ophthalmologist who sees many patients with macular degeneration, was less strident in his criticism, indicating he saw both good and bad in the "ER" story line.
"The bad was that the patient felt hopeless yet there are new treatments and low vision aids available to help patients with AMD," Folk said.
"The good was that these programs called attention to depression which is a common and treatable disease in the elderly especially in those with health problems."
Many AMD patients experience depression when they lose the vision in their second eye. Doctors need to ask specific questions concerning depression to both the patient and loved ones.
"If a patient appears depressed, he or she should see a psychiatrist or a therapist," Folk said. "I am impressed a year later how many people severely affected by AMD have come up with creative solutions to their handicaps. Most patients can live very good lives."
Folk and other physicians and support staff affiliated with the UI Center for Macular Degeneration focus their research and patient care expertise on degenerative eye diseases. Treatment for these conditions may include medical, surgical, and/or low vision rehabilitation.
Facts About AMD
- Leading cause of vision loss in patients over 50
- Many new treatments help to preserve vision
- Low vision aids helpful
- An ophthalmologist should be contacted immediately if central vision is suddenly lost or distorted
For more information
The UI Center for Macular Degeneration, directed by Edwin M. Stone, M.D., Ph.D., employs multidisciplinary faculty and staff in its clinics and laboratories. To contact the Center for more information about treatment options, call UI Health Access and ask for the Center, or call the Center directly at 319-384-9270.
Patients who have lost some central vision may contact Low Vision Rehabilitation Services, directed by Mark Wilkinson, O.D. The services offer many treatment options to enhance visual functioning for people who have lost vision. Call UI Health Access and ask for Low Vision Rehabilitation Services, or call the service directly at 319-356-8301.
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What's it like to have macular degeneration? This digitally modified photograph of UI ophthalmologist James Folk, M.D., gives a visual clue to what a patient with moderate macular degeneration would see.
For more information:
Center for Macular Degeneration
Low Vision Rehabilitation Services
James C. Folk, M.D.
Mark Wilkinson, O.D.
Edwin M. Stone, M.D., Ph.D.
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