Wet AMD
Neovascular or exudative AMD, the "wet" form of advanced AMD, causes vision loss due to abnormal blood vessel growth (choroidal neovascularization) in the choriocapillaris, through Bruchs membrane. It is usually, but not always, preceded by the dry form of AMD. The proliferation of abnormal blood vessels in the retina is stimulated by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Because these blood vessels are abnormal, these are also more fragile than typical blood vessels, which ultimately leads to blood and protein leakage below the macula. Bleeding, leaking, and scarring from these blood vessels eventually cause irreversible damage to the photoreceptors and rapid vision loss if left untreated. Oxidative stress
Age-related accumulation of low-molecular-weight, phototoxic, pro-oxidant melanin oligomers within lysosomes in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) may be partly responsible for decreasing the digestive rate of photoreceptor outer rod segments (POS) by the RPE – autophagy. A decrease in the digestive rate of POS has been shown to be associated with lipofuscin formation – a classic sign associated with AMD.The role of retinal oxidative stress in the cause of AMD by resulting in further inflammation of the macula is suggested by the enhanced rate of disease in smokers and those exposed to UV irradiation.Mitochondrial dysfunction may play a role. Evidence was recently reviewed that damage to mitochondrial DNA may be an essential element of AMD pathogenesis and that overproduction of reactive oxygen species may play a role in this process. Diagnosis
Diagnosis of age-related macular degeneration depends on signs in the macula, not necessarily vision.
A fundic gland polyp is a type of polyp, found in the fundus of the stomach. Fundic gland polyps are found in 0.8 to 1.9% of patients who undergo esophagogastroduodenoscopy, and are more common in middle-aged women.The risk of malignancy is very low or none, when sporadic.Fundic gland polyposis is a medical syndrome with multiple fundic gland polyps. The condition has been described both in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and attenuated variants (AFAP), and in patients in whom it occurs sporadically. == References ==