EP #22: Unraveling the Secrets of Wet Macular Degeneration

Discover the hidden intricacies of wet macular degeneration with Dr. Thuy Nguyen and Jeremy Wolfe on the Jazzy Eyes podcast. This episode, featuring the insights of Dr. Falco, peels back the layers of this serious eye condition, moving beyond its dry counterpart and highlighting the alarming transition to its wet form. Brace yourselves for a journey into the retina's complex structure, the accumulation of waste, and the alarming symptoms like the sudden darkness at the center of vision, that can usurp even the simplest joys of life.

Navigating the conversation with Dr. Nguyen, we explore the vital importance of regular eye exams for early detection, the detrimental effects of smoking on ocular health, and the lifesaving lifestyle changes that could help safeguard your sight. Whether it's understanding the critical role of diet and UV protection or knowing the signs to watch out for, this episode is an invaluable resource for anyone committed to preserving their vision. Join us for a power-packed session that arms you with the knowledge to combat the onset of this challenging condition.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Jazzy Eyes podcast.
Taking care of your vision withexpert precision.
Here's your host, dr Tui Nguyen.

Jeremy (00:14):
Hello, hello everyone, and welcome back to the Jazzy
Eyes podcast.
I'm your co-host, jeremy Wolfe,joined by your host, dr Tui
Nguyen.
Dr Nguyen, always a pleasure,nice to see you again.
Yes, we just wrapped up acouple of segments with Dr Falco
and we were talking all aboutmacular degeneration,
specifically the dry variety ofmacular degeneration.

(00:37):
We talked about what it is, howit comes about and also some
management and treatment typeoptions.
Now there is another type ofmacular degeneration.
It is the wet variety.
She alluded to what that was ina past episode, but I'm going
to let you explain, because thisis all new to me.
I learned a lot speaking of DrFalco.
I'm interested to get into this.

(00:58):
Please share with us a littlebit about wet macular
degeneration.

Dr. Nguyen (01:03):
Right Wet macular degeneration.
It starts off.
It could start off as dry.
Within the 10 layers of theretina in our eyes there is a
specific layer that'sresponsible for shutting in
nutrients and shutting out waste.
Unfortunately, with age thecells that do that.
They aren't efficient as theyused to be anymore.

(01:23):
Over time we get some buildupof waste in our retina.
This buildup of waste it couldbe like metabolic byproducts or
like fats, lipids.
They get deposited in theretina in the form of what we
call drusen.
Then that's the beginning ofthe macular degeneration, the
buildup of the waste there.
It eventually damages the cellsin the macula.

(01:47):
Then these damaged cells,because they're damaged, they're
calling out for help.
They're secretingpro-inflammatory markers or a
specific chemical called VEGF,which promotes abnormal blood
vessel growth.
These blood vessels, theybecome leaky and then they start
to leak out blood products orplasma or waste in the retina.

(02:13):
That's why we call it wetmacular degeneration, because of
the leakage.

Jeremy (02:18):
Is it always start with the dry and then turn into wet,
or are there cases where it justonset immediately the wet kind?

Dr. Nguyen (02:27):
Most of the time the dry converts to the wet.
Some people have a very rapidonset where it's Dry than wet,
or they can start with a wet or,like one eye, can have both dry
and wet.
So it's it's a case-to-casebasis, different for everyone.
Not all the time it starts aswet, most of the time it is dry,
although there is like a 10 15percent that a dry can convert

(02:49):
into the wet.
And if you're a smoker thatrisk doubles.
Smoking is very bad foreverything.

Jeremy (02:57):
Yeah, it's exactly I said she mentioned smoking and
immediately I was thinking howdoes that affect that?
And I asked her specificallywhat it is and she said the same
thing it's just bad foreverything every part of your
body every process, so yeah,definitely a risk factor.

Dr. Nguyen (03:12):
They're like smaller things she probably talked
about, like diet, uv protectionand family history, all that
stuff, but smoking is a hugeno-no and that's why it's so
important for you get an eyeexam every, you know six to
twelve months, depending on youknow if there is family history,
you want to get your eyeschecked a little bit more more
frequent, but that's what welook for when you get an eye

(03:33):
exam is, if you have dry, wewant to make sure that it
doesn't turn into wet, becausethe onset could be like very
quick.
And then all of a sudden, youknow, you know when you get the
wet, maculature generation andwhat you're gonna see is a black
or like gray Central spot, likewherever you're looking, right
in the middle.
It's like you're lookingthrough a gray spot and it's
really annoying because you, youcan imagine then you can't read

(03:56):
or you Can't do certain hobbiesthat you used to, you can't
even sign checks.
You lose a lot of your thesimple, like activities of daily
living.

Jeremy (04:03):
I Want to back up for a second so I have a better
understanding right?
Dr Falco mentioned the.
The main distinction and youalluded to it between the dry
and the wet is Basically theblood, the presence of blood.
So I want to dive into that alittle bit more.
What is it specifically thatcauses the blood to be released?

(04:24):
Obviously has to do with theblood vessels.
Can you unpack that a littlebit more, just so I have a
better understanding of how ittransitions from the dry to the
wet?

Dr. Nguyen (04:33):
right.
So the damaged cell in the dryform kind of secretes all of
these chemicals that Tell them,that tell the surrounding cells
hey, I'm dying, I want you togrow new blood vessels to give
me more nutrients and everythingbecause I'm dying.
And so these chemicals makeAbnormal blood vessels grow into

(04:57):
the macula.
These are blood vessels thatare not supposed to be there
originally and so they're notStable blood vessels.
So when those abnormal bloodvessels grow into the macula
they start to leak.
They're not normal, they're notstable, they're leaky vessels,
and that's how you get the wetversion of the maculady
generation.

Jeremy (05:17):
Absolutely fascinating right.

Dr. Nguyen (05:20):
Like the, the, the eye is trying to repair itself,
but in doing so it causes moreharm than good.
I Mean.

Jeremy (05:27):
The human body never ceases to amaze me, and I have a
keen fascination with the humaneye.
It's just, it's mesmerizing.
How we've evolved to thisReally is Crazy stuff.
So anything else that you wantto share about Kind of the what
it is and how it comes to be,before we get into kind of

(05:50):
management and treatment options.

Dr. Nguyen (05:51):
That covers just the basic surface level of it.
So then we'll get into themanaged part and I'll let you
know how, once there isconversion from dry to wet, what
we can do.

Jeremy (06:00):
Perfect, sounds good.
Thanks everyone for tuning inand we will see you on the next
episode.
Everyone take care.

Speaker 1 (06:09):
Thank you for listening to the Jazzy eyes
podcast.
For more information, visitJazzy eyes calm or contact 954
473 0100.