Anti-oxidant vitamins (such as vitamin C and E) help “mop up” the damaging “free radicals” and this is how vitamin supplements are thought to be beneficial in some patients with macular degeneration. Lutein is a pigment that you get from your diet and is present at the macula and helps prevent the high energy blue light from reaching the rods and cones. The eye has some defence against this ageing process. The RPE recycling also becomes less efficient with the passage of time and “waste products” accumulate within the retina called “drusen” ![]() The high energy light can produce particles called “free radicals” which damage the cells and the high energy light can also damage the genetic material in the cells called “DNA” that controls the function of the cell. The light that focuses on the macula and in particular the blue end of the spectrum has high energy and can damage the cells in a variety of ways. The rods and cones need to recycle material in order to function in an efficient manner and the RPE assists in this recycling.Īs the macular is working “at full stretch” it is not surprising that with the passage of time it is more prone to the ageing process than other tissues in the body. ![]() They work so hard that they need both a very good blood supply called the choroid (to give oxygen and sugar to the cells) and a layer of cells beside them called the Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) to help them function. The cells at the macular that are responsible for changing the light into electricity are called photoreceptors (rods and cones). It is responsible for converting the focused image of light striking the retina into electrical impulses that are sent to the brain to give us sight. It is the most sophisticated piece of tissue in the body and works “flat out” from the moment you open your eyes in the morning to the moment you go to sleep. ![]() It is responsible for detailed vision (reading, writing, recognising faces) and for colour vision. The macula is the name given to the centre of the retina (photographic film at the back of the eye).
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