At 76, Stevie Nicks is among the aging Americans struggling with macular degeneration

Anyone who saw Stevie Nicks’ two appearances on “Saturday Night Live” in October – during which she performed her brand new female empowerment anthem “The Lighthouse” as well as her classic “Edge of Seventeen” – now knows that her whistles are silent as strong and true as they were when she made her SNL debut as a member of Fleetwood Mac in the 1970s.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about her eyesight.

Also in October, the legendary 76-year-old singer – a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee – revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone that she had recently been diagnosed with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). .

“A year and a half ago, I was diagnosed with what’s called wet macular degeneration, and that’s not a good thing,” she told the magazine. “I saw all these colors, big purple things. I had, like, LSD trips. And I say, ‘I don’t take acid, so I don’t understand what that is.'”

As she later learned, macular degeneration is an eye disease that occurs when the central part of the retina, called the macula, in the back of the eye(s) begins to atrophy for unknown reasons, eventually affecting the eye the affected person’s central vision.

There are two types of macular degeneration: dry and wet. Between 80 and 90% of the 20 million people suffering from macular degeneration in the United States suffer from the former.

The latter, which Nicks has, is far rarer – and more serious.

Nicks explained that her mother suffered from dry macular degeneration and that given its impact on her, Nicks has vowed to make the most of her time while she still has full vision.

“My mother had dry macular degeneration,” she said. “Her whole job was to do the financial books for my father because she was a little financial wizard. When she was about 80, it was really hard for her to see. In a way I think it killed her because her heart was so broken that she couldn’t do this anymore. When I was diagnosed with this, I suddenly thought, “You know what?” “You have to finish these drawings because what if you start losing your eyesight?” I haven’t drawn in years… but my drawings are just as important to me as my songs.”

Understanding age-related macular degeneration

Macular degeneration is often an inherited eye disease, but it also occurs in people without a family history. Although age is the most common cause of the disease, it can occur in people of any age. (Non-age-related macular degeneration is often associated with factors such as diabetes, traumatic head and/or brain injuries, severe infections, and/or a diet that does not contain the proper nutrients.)

The macula helps send images from the eye’s optic nerve to the brain. When the macula becomes damaged or begins to deteriorate, the brain cannot correctly interpret the images the eyes see.

Dry macular degeneration occurs when tiny yellow protein deposits called drusen form under the macula. The deposits dry out and thin the macula.

Conversely, wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels develop under the retina and macula. Blood and fluid often leak from these blood vessels. Due to the accumulation of fluid, a bulge forms in the macula. The wet variant of the disease often progresses quickly.

In both versions, macular degeneration impairs the eye’s proper “central vision.”

As Kierstan Boyd of the American Academy of Ophthalmology explains, with age-related macular degeneration, “you won’t be able to see fine details whether you’re looking at something close or far away.” But your peripheral vision will still be normal. For example, imagine you are looking at a clock with hands. With age-related macular degeneration, you may see the numbers on the clock but not the hands.”

Treatment of age-related macular degeneration

Although there is no cure for macular degeneration, detection and treatment in its early stages can help slow progression and reduce the severity of symptoms.

However, the Cleveland Clinic notes that “even with successful treatments, symptoms often recur.”

Depending on whether the sufferer has the dry or wet form of the disease, treatments may include nutritional supplements, medications, photodynamic therapy (PDT), and laser therapy.

In dry macular degeneration, large studies have shown that a combination of vitamins and minerals can slow the progression of the disease. Dietary supplements commonly used to treat patients with dry macular degeneration include:

For wet macular degeneration, the most common treatment is anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections.

Boyd explained that these injections “reduce the number of abnormal blood vessels in your retina and slow blood vessel leakage.”

Nicks told Rolling Stone that she is currently undergoing anti-VEGF injections: “Now I have to get a shot in each of my eyes every six, seven, eight, nine weeks. It will be like this for the rest of my life.”

Boyd also noted that laser surgery — in which an eye surgeon directs a laser beam at the abnormal blood vessels — can also be used to treat certain cases of wet macular degeneration.

“The laser beam helps reduce the number of vessels and slow their leakage,” she explained.

All ophthalmology experts emphasize the importance of having your eyes examined regularly – even if you don’t notice any changes in your vision.

Age-related macular degeneration is often present before a person experiences symptoms.

And if you notice any of the following half dozen symptoms: 1) difficulty seeing in low light; 2) Blurred vision; 3) poor eyesight; 4) problems or changes in the way you see colors; 5) Blank or dark spots in your field of vision; 6) See what should be straight lines as curvy or wavy – see your eye doctor immediately.

This article originally appeared in the Palm Beach Post: Rock legend Stevie Nicks is battling a rarer form of macular degeneration