Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration occurs when deposits called drusen build up in the eye. These deposits cause light-sensitive cells to die off or blood vessels to leak and cause cell damage.

It’s more common in white Americans. Eighty-nine percent of people who get macular degeneration are white, and about 14% of white Americans ages 80 or older have the disease, according to the National Eye Institute.

There are two types of macular degeneration: dry and wet. Dry AMD is the most common and makes up 85 to 90% of cases, according to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation.

Researchers don’t know exactly what causes macular degeneration, but the biggest risk for developing it is increased age. There is no cure for macular degeneration, and treatments focus on preventing or slowing down eye damage.

New studies show that people who take Elmiron for an extended period of time have an increased risk of developing pigmentary maculopathy. This includes loss of central vision, blurry or distorted vision, loss of color vision, or impaired depth perception.

In July 2019, Drs. Adam M. Hanif and Nieraj Jain published their study on Elmiron and pigmentary maculopathy in Review of Ophthalmology. Study authors called the eye damage “preventable, vision-threatening medication toxicity that could masquerade as other known maculopathies.”

“Our subsequent investigations demonstrated that this unique maculopathy is strongly associated with chronic PPS exposure, not [interstitial cystitis] IC itself or its other therapies. In fact, this characteristic maculopathy has, to date, been exclusively diagnosed in patients reporting prior PPS exposure,” the authors wrote.

After reading the findings of Hanif and Jain, Drs. Robin A. Vora, Amar P. Patel and Ronald Melles at Kaiser Permanente looked at Kaiser Permanente’s database of 4.3 million patients and presented their findings in October 2019.

They found 140 patients who took an average of 5,000 Elmiron pills over 15 years. Ninety-one of those patients came in for an exam, and 22 of those patients showed clear signs of eye damage and drug toxicity.

A 2022 review of the literature confirms the consensus around this disease: higher cumulative doses of pentosan cause maculopathy with symptoms consistent with rod dysfunction, similar to age-related macular degeneration.

Symptoms of Elmiron Eye Damage

Common symptoms of Elmiron eye damage in the Hanif and Jain study were blurred vision while reading, taking a long time to adjust to dark lighting, and metamorphopsia, a visual defect that causes lines to look curvy or round.

How Long Did It Take to Develop Vision Problems?

The median duration of Elmiron use was about 14.5 years among patients in the Hanif and Jain study. But symptoms could occur as early as three years after starting Elmiron treatment.

Patients showed signs of vision damage that lasted from one to nine years at the time of the study. Vision damage may be permanent. Patients who took Elmiron and experienced vision damage as a result are currently filing Elmiron lawsuits.

Elmiron is the only oral medication approved to treat symptoms of IC — a condition that causes bladder pressure and pain. But there are alternatives to Elmiron that may help manage the symptoms of IC in people who stop taking drug.

There is no cure for macular degeneration but some treatments may slow disease progression. People can make lifestyle changes to help them cope with vision loss and help prevent disease progression.

Supplements

Some supplements may help people with age-related macular degeneration, according to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation. Supplements are especially helpful for people who have signs of macular degeneration, a family history of the disease or those who don’t eat enough greens or fish.

Always check with your doctor before taking any supplements because they may interact with other medications.

What Is the Best Treatment for Macular Degeneration?

There is no cure for macular degeneration, and each person may respond to treatment differently. Each treatment plan is tailored to the individual depending on the type and stage of AMD.

Early stage AMD has no treatment beyond lifestyle changes such as healthy diet and exercise. But research from the National Eye Institute shows that special supplement formulas called AREDS and AREDS2 may slow vision loss when taken daily.

These formulas contain beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, copper, lutein, Zeaxanthin and zinc. The AREDS formula is not recommended for current or former smokers.

People with late stage or wet AMD have two options to slow down or stop vision loss: photodynamic therapy, or PDT, and anti-VEGF injections.