Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects about one in 10 people over 55 to varying extents. One of those sufferers is Senator David Norris, writes RONAN McGREEVY.
THREE YEARS ago Senator David Norris went to his optician looking for a change of prescription. Things were becoming a little more blurred. Reading was a little harder and he often found himself dazzled at night by headlights.
His optician suspected it was something more than just a new prescription that he needed, and referred him to a specialist who diagnosed him with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
AMD affects about one in 10 people over 55 to varying extents. There are two types of AMD – wet and dry.
The dry version is caused by solid deposits called drusen in the macula which is in the centre of the retina. The macula is a tiny spot which helps clarity of vision and acts as a natural sunglass. The dry version accounts for about 85 per cent of all people with AMD.
Senator Norris has the wet version or, as he describes it, the “nasty” version, which is caused by new blood vessels growing behind the retina causing bleeding and scarring which leads to sight loss.
Wet AMD can occur a lot faster than dry AMD and can lead to deterioration of sight, especially central vision, and even blindness.
“He [the consultant] quoted a lot of Latin terminology at me and he said that it looked like I had AMD,” Norris recalls.
“When you translate it, it means that basically I have a condition that is progressive, can lead to blindness and there is nothing that can be done about it.
“I asked the doctor, ‘is that a proper summary’ and he said yes. In that case, I said, ‘let’s not waste any more time. Give me the bill and I’m going.’”
Since the diagnosis, Norris has been overwhelmed, by his own admission, by well-wishers and those sending him cards and cures.
“I released a most wonderful wave of sympathy and affection which I didn’t feel I deserve because I don’t consider this condition to be serious. I’ve had people calling me from all over the country telling me about all kinds of cures, some of those cures are superstition, but it was all terribly well meant,” he says.
Fortunately, the disease has not progressed to any great extent yet and, aside from giving up night driving, it has not affected his life or his essentially sunny disposition.
“I said it three years ago when I was diagnosed and I’m saying it now that I am 65 years old. Things wear out, get rusty and fall off. When enough of these things happen, people dig a hygenic hole in the ground, put you in a box, say goodbye and that’s it. It’s part of the life cycle.”
One “constant thread” in the advice he received was from people urging him to take Lutein, a carotenoid, or organic pigment essential to good vision, which is found in green vegetables such as spinach or cabbage.
On the advice of the Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), which is a world-leader in AMD research, Norris has been taking the supplement MacuShield which has shown promising early results.
MacuShield contains three dietary compounds, lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin, which are also found in the macular. MacuShield may have a role in either preventing the disease or slowing its progress. In a number of cases, patients who took it claim that it reversed it, a process that was not thought possible before.
Trials of the supplement are taking place at WIT.
In any case, the redoubtable Senator has decided to raise awareness of the condition on behalf of Fighting Blindness and the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI).
“I have the ‘wet’ one which is irreversible, but most people have the ‘dry’ one which can be halted or diverted. I’m prepared to make a song and dance about it and use my profile to help to save people’s eyesight,” he says.
Although there is not yet conclusive proof, there is some evidence that taking dietary supplements can help control dry AMD and reduce the risk that it will change or progress to wet AMD. He also hopes to raise awareness of the work being done by WIT and the support groups for those with AMD.
Norris’s intervention is greatly appreciated by the NCBI given that there is hardly a more eminently quotable or, indeed, colourful character in the whole country to raise the profile of the illness.
NCBI chief executive Des Kenny says: “David started by going on one of our fundraising events before the detection of his impairment. He has volunteered his services to us.
“He’s aware that he has wet AMD, but it is under control. It has not beset him in the same way as people who are less au fait with it.
“It is great that he has put what I call his ‘artistic and political toolbox of goodness’ at our disposal. David is an upbeat man about everything. Because of the amount of material that he has to read, he would be palpably aware what others might suffer and that’s why he is so keenly interested in helping.”
For his own part, Norris says his arthritis and prostate problems cause him much more irritation and he is determined to carry on with that lust for life which informs everything he does and says.
“I tire out people half my age. I had Lucy Kennedy [TV presenter] staying with me for her Living With Lucy series and she had to go to bed for a week afterwards,” he admits.
“I’m having a wonderful life and I have been so lucky to have 65 wonderful years with love, romance and laughter. I have had a dose of everything. When you think there are people who are lucky to get to 25 and have to endure misery, poverty and slime, I’ve been exceptionally lucky.”
All the same, though, he has taken an even keener interest in the beauty of the world around him.
“I can see plenty, there is plenty around to still see. It has had a rather interesting effect on me,” he says.
“I’ve always enjoyed the senses and the beauty of nature, animals and birds, seas and landscapes, skies and clouds especially at this time of year. I’ve made more of a conscious effort to savour them just in case.”
More information about AMD can be found at the ncbi.ie website or on the helpline 01-4291200. Information about MacuShield can be found at macushield.ie