Macular Degeneration: The Latest Scientific Discoveries and Treatments for Preserving Your Sight [Paperback]

Robert D'Amato M.D. Ph.D. (Author), Joan Snyder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000

Dr. Robert D'Amato, MD, PhD of Harvard Medical School,and recent winner of the Lew Wasserman award for his pioneering eye research, has teamed up with ARMD sufferer and writer Joan Snyder, to produce Macular Degeneration: The Latest Scientific Discoveries and Treatments for Preserving Your Sight. Endorsed by the Macular Degeneration Foundation, this easy-to-read large type edition is the only book written for laymen that covers all of the latest scientific discoveries and promising research for age-related macular degeneration. Learn more about Visudyne (photodynamic therapy), laser therapy, nutrition and drug therapy. Dr. D'Amato covers alternative or complimentaty therapies such as acupuncture, meditation, microcurrent stimulation and more. Promising medical research initiatives are discussed. Macular Degeneration offers hope and practical advice for the 13-15 million Americans suffering from this disease.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Clear, practical, and accurately subtitled, this book by an ophthalmologist-patient team deals primarily with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the most frequent type of the disorder. Patient Snyder and both D'Amato's grandmother and father have the disease, enabling the authors to keep the book appealingly personal while D'Amato draws on his lengthy clinical and research experience to provide scientific information. ARMD's major symptom is gradual loss of vision at the center of the eye. D'Amato explains the differences between dry and wet ARMD and discusses the difficulties in making a definite diagnosis. Scientific studies have shown that neither alcohol consumption nor vitamins nor nutritional supplements benefit a patient. There is no cure for ARMD, yet patient and physician can do many things to help the patient and the patient's family. D'Amato summarizes current research and stresses that more funding is needed, and both authors present methods for coping. William Beatty
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

An oustanding addition to consumer health collections; highly recommended -- Library Journal, starred review, August 2000

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company; 1 edition (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802713599
• ISBN-13: 978-0802713599
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #209,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Aging > Eye Problems

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First book that answered my questions!, September 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Macular Degeneration: The Latest Scientific Discoveries and Treatments for Preserving Your Sight (Paperback)

I have been trying to find info on new treatments for macular degeneration. What is the difference between photodynamic therapy (PDT/Visudyne) versus transpupillary thermotherapy? This book covered all the latest treaments, even ones in experimental stages. Amazingly, the book is also comprehensive in its discussion of diet and alternative therapies. As well, it explained all the nuts and bolts of the disease process. I found it exciting to read and quite inspiring. It is a "must read" if you have macular degeneration.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what we've been waiting for!, September 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Macular Degeneration: The Latest Scientific Discoveries and Treatments for Preserving Your Sight (Paperback)

Great book! Endorsed by the Macular Degeneration Foundation, this easy-to-read large type edition is the only book I've found, written for laymen, that covers all of the latest scientific discoveries and promising research for age-related macular degeneration. For a disease affecting over 15 million in the US alone, clear, state-of-the-art answers to the questions uppermost on the minds of those affected and those that love and take care of them, has been sorely lacking. No more. Dr. D'Amato's book 'Macular Degeneration - The Latest Scientific Discoveries and Treatments for Preserving Your Sight' is remarkable in many ways. First it is eminently readable; succeeding in clearly and concisely conveying the often complex and confusing conditions that are encompassed by the broad disease category called macular degeneration. Second, it succeeds where no other book has before in providing eminent counsel on what to expect of your retinal specialist, dispelling much of the anxiety associated with the diagnostic process and occasionally-appropriate treatment for select individuals with certain forms of the disease. D'Amato, who has both an M.D. and a Ph.D., serves as Attending Ophthalmologist at Boston's renowned Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and conducts research in his laboratory at Boston's Children's Hospital. The book is sensibly divided into three parts: Understanding and Diagnosing Macular Degeneration, Treatment Options and Coping with Age-Related Macular Degeneration. In the first part he strips away the veil of mystery surrounding who is likely to get MD and what we really know about why they get it. He outlines the process of normal vision and describes what goes awry in those with MD. He cogently conveys the important steps needed to determine a diagnosis of MD and lucidly shares what you and I would experience when undergoing these investigations. Once a diagnosis has been made he provides a much-needed straight-shooting road map for what one might expect in the future. In Part Two, Treatment Options, he starts from ground zero describing the importance of preventive care and close monitoring before accurately outlining the emerging state-of-the-science in therapies for the often-debilitating wet form of the disease. He then presents a rare balanced view of alternative therapies and outlines the promise and potential of ongoing and proposed medical research initiatives. In Part Three, Coping with Age-Related Macular Degeneration, he provides a comprehensive guide to social and occupational success for those diagnosed with the disease. Dr. D'Amato writes with the care, sensitivity and quiet authority that stems from his many dedicated years of clinical and research experience that have rendered him one of the World's top experts in the field. In a field where so little is known and no definitive treatment exists, Dr. D'Amato is a refreshingly relentless pioneer pushing back the frontiers of darkness, and with this book, he definitively brings his brightest light to bear on this devastating disease. For those with macular degeneration and those that love and care for them, this is unequivocally the one book well worth owning.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you've recently been diagnosed with ARMD, read this book!, January 30, 2001

By 

Thomas J. Brucia "Tom B" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Macular Degeneration: The Latest Scientific Discoveries and Treatments for Preserving Your Sight (Paperback)

A few years ago my wife had a blood vessel in her retina burst causing permanent partial vision loss in one eye. (She complained of "wavy vision" the day before she was to go to Europe on vacation - she cancelled the trip.) Since then we have had an Amsler grid on our refrigerator door, and she has learned to cope with the `missing spot' in her field of vision.... Two weeks ago she noticed - while watching the Bloomberg channel - that she could not read a good bit of what was on the screen. This time the doctor found another leakage into the retina (not involving red blood cells); her vision returned to what it was before in a few days. The doctor `put dye into her' to `check her eyes out.' - BUT this time the doctor told her that she has early dry ARMD. ----- I realized that we didn't understand very much of what we were being told ... so I bought this book and spent the last two days reading it cover to cover... This is really an EXCELLENT summary. I wish we had had it before my wife's latest problem, because I would have been able to ask more intelligent questions. We will on the next checkup! This deceptively small book holds more information than I thought could be packed into a 170-page volume in large type. Dr. Robert D'Amato's explanations are not only complete, but also clear. (I finished reading it before I noticed that the Macular Degeneration Foundation has endorsed it!). I have a bent for details and proofs, for the exact pro's and con's of different `treatments.' I learned that my wife's emotional reaction to her diagnosis (she was initially convinced that she `was going blind') was only partially justified. Dr. D'Amato shows that this outcome is highly improbable; most people show a gradual loss, if any at all, over a period of years. I learned, however, that it is essential to keep an eye on (unintended humor there) dry ARMD so that progression into wet ARMD can be detected, and then treated. He details both current and prospective treatments for wet ARMD. ---- "Macular Degeneration" contains a very helpful glossary, and the book is filled with specific sources - so one can pursue additional research on this affliction! ----- I was NOT particularly impressed by Joan Snyder's contribution to this volume, despite the fact that she is obviously sincere. `Alternative medicine' seems to be all the rage now, but I think it lacks the rigor of true science. Mrs. Snyder's very complete listing of alternative approaches seemed to me merely a catalog of `ways to kid yourself.' [I was waiting for her to suggest prayer, pilgrimages, or divine healing -- which she never did, thank goodness!] Dr. D'Amato's kind words about his co-author did not hide his skepticism about her sympathy for `alternative medicine'. He is a more patient man than I am! Since the `alternative medicine' section occupied a relatively small part of the volume (the preface and Chapter 8) I don't feel that Mrs. Synder's contribution significantly detracted from the book's worth -in fact, for those like me who are hard-headed empiricists, the descriptions of `alternative approaches' told me: don't waste time on this approach! ---- Hats off to the publisher: Note that the typeface is quite large which opens this valuable work to those who need it the most -- ARMD sufferers with significant vision loss! I strongly feel everyone recently diagnosed with ARMD should read this book.