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mailed to: Issue: November 2008 Evidence Supports New Approaches
for Reducing the Risk of Macular Degeneration  Evidence Supports
New Approaches for Reducing the Risk of Macular Degeneration
Learn about the pathogenesis of MD, how to identify patients at
risk and prevent it through diet and nutritional
supplementation.  By Lloyd I. Snider, OD  Advances in science
and modern medicine have increased life expectancy. Living
longer, however, implies nothing about the quality of life. The
aging of the baby-boomer generation coincides with an expected
epidemic rise in vision impairment caused by age-related macular
degeneration (AMD). Current estimates report that 30 million
people worldwide have AMD, and the number is expected to double
or triple in the next 20 years. The associated costs are
astronomical. As gatekeepers for vision care, eyecare
practitioners can play an important role in preventing vision
impairment from AMD and reducing healthcare cost