Bulletin Board Archives

In order to conserve server space, not every comment previously posted on the AMDF Bulletin Board has been included in these Archives. In some cases, minor editing of the messages has been made prior to including them in the Archives. However, the AMDF has attempted to retain the flavor, content and tone of the original writer's message.

We are pleased to provide these Archives as a service to our readers, however, the American Macular Degeneration Foundation does not warrant the accuracy of information exchanged. The American Macular Degeneration Foundation advises that opinions expressed, questions posed, and answers given are solely those of the person posting the same.

Messages posted by AMDF Bulletin Board Readers are grouped into the following categories:

Assistive Technologies: Numerous devices may help macular degeneration patients cope with daily activities.

General Interest: Messages on various topics pertaining to macular degeneration.

Nutritional Supplements: Vitamin and mineral products intended to add nutrients that may be missing or unavailable in one's diet and thought to have a beneficial effect on preventing or slowing the progression of macular degeneration.

Macular Degeneration in the Young: Macular degeneration affects young people also.

Photodynamic Therapy: A light-activated drug is injected into the patient and then migrates into the eye's abnormal blood vessels. Shine in a non-burning beam of light and the drug "switches on," eliminating those blood vessels without hurting surrounding tissue.

PKC-412: A new drug that, in mice, completely halts the abnormal growth of blood vessels in the eye that cause "wet" macular degeneration.

Proton-Beam Therapy: A proton-beam is more concentrated than a regular laser and delivers increased energy to a smaller target.

Retinal Repositioning Operations: Operations which involve repositioning the macula away from leaking blood vessels.

Rheotherapy/Rheopheresis: A treatment for macular degeneration that "cleans" the blood to remove toxic protein and waste material that hinder blood flow, thus increasing capillary blood flow to the macula.

• Rheopheresis® - OccuLogixSM Corporation, through its subsidiary Apheresis Technology, Inc. (ATI), is currently enrolling patients in a final phase multi-center clinical trial on Rheopheresis using Membrane Differential Filtration for the Treatment of Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration. For details.