Prevent Blindness providing free educational resources on geographic atrophy

(Image credit: Adobe Stock/HelenP)

Prevent Blindness, the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to eye health, is proud to announce December 2 to 8, 2024, as its fourth annual Geographic Atrophy (GA) Awareness Week.

GA is an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and it is estimated that approximately 1 million people in the United States are affected by the condition.¹

To raise awareness and provide support, Prevent Blindness offers free educational resources on GA, including a comprehensive fact sheet, a series of social media graphics in both English and Spanish, a dedicated web page, and expert-led videos. This year’s GA Awareness Week is made possible with funding from Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

For individuals living with GA or AMD, as well as their caregivers, Prevent Blindness offers the free Living Well With Low Vision program. This initiative provides access to a variety of resources, including directories, self-help guides, downloadable apps like GuideME for AMD, information on clinical trials, and the latest research news on AMD.

“This is an exciting time for research and treatment options for those with geographic atrophy,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “We encourage patients to check out our various GA resources and work directly with their eye doctor to put together the best treatment plan to help save sight.”

The cause of GA is unknown, but the following can increase a patient’s risk for GA:

• Family history of AMD
• Age – over 60 years old
• Race – Caucasians have a higher rate of AMD
• Light colored eyes
• Smoking
• Genetics
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Women not using menopausal hormone replacement therapy
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• High cholesterol
• Obesity
• High sun exposure throughout the life span
• Poor diet with a low intake of fruits and vegetables (specifically dark green leafy vegetables)

To inform patients with Geographic Atrophy (GA) and their care partners, Prevent Blindness offers an episode of the Focus on Eye Health Expert Series titled “Advancements in Treatments for Geographic Atrophy.” The episode features Rajeev S. Ramchandran, MD, MBA, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center.¹

Additional Focus on Eye Health Expert Series episodes include:

• “Geographic Atrophy and Patient Support,“ featuring Prevent Blindness Ohio Past President and CEO, Sherry Williams, sharing her story as a care partner for her mother diagnosed with GA.
• The “Geographic Atrophy” episode, features Janet S. Sunness, MD, medical director of the Richard E. Hoover Low Vision Rehabilitation Services at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center.

At the recent Ophthalmology Times/Optometry Times EyeCon 2024 event at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, David Chin Yee, MD, presented “GA: What Every OD Should Know.” In a conversation with Ophthalmology Times, he noted there are some critical signs and symptoms that ophthalmologists and optometrists alike should look for detecting the early stages of GA.²

“What we look for, usually, is that the patient will note loss of central vision, specifically identified on the Snellen visual acuity,” he said.

Yee noted that patients may notice their reading speed can be diminished. Another issue is difficulty in low-light settings.

“So, if they go to a nice restaurant, it is a candlelight dining, they will have the need to want to take out their flashlight or their phone to make it brighter for them to be able to read or see what they could have seen years prior before having this problem,” Yee said.

Prevent Blindness offers GA patients and others the Vision Loss and Mental Wellness resource from its Living Well With Low Vision program. As loss of vision can lead to feelings of depression, anxiety, and loss of independence, some individuals may notice a change in their desire to socialize with others, or increased frustration with the additional time it may take to accomplish tasks of daily living.

Prevent Blindness encourages patients experiencing these types of issues to seek support groups of others who are living with GA.

References

1. Fourth Annual Geographic Atrophy Awareness Week - Prevent Blindness. Prevent Blindness. Published November 26, 2024. Accessed November 29, 2024. https://preventblindness.org/geographic-atrophy-week-2024/

2. Hutton D. Eyecon 2024: What every OD and MD should know about geographic atrophy. Ophthalmology Times. Published September 28, 2024. Accessed November 29, 2024. https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/eyecon-2024-what-every-od-and-md-should-know-about-geographic-atrophy