Photo caption: An occupational therapist at Thomas Jefferson University works with a patient who has low vision. Credit: Thomas Jefferson University.
Depression is a common risk for people who have lost their vision from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but a new study shows that a type of rehabilitation therapy can cut this risk in half. AMD is a leading cause of vision loss in the United States.
A team of psychologists, ophthalmologists, optometrists, and occupational therapists researched “an effective treatment…to reduce the disability [of AMD] through rehabilitation.” The researchers believe the depression is a response to disability.
About two million Americans age 50 and over have vision loss from AMD, and about eight million have an earlier stage of the disease, with or without vision loss.
Click here to read more about the study and its findings: http://www.nei.nih.gov/news/pressreleases/070914.asp
Source: NIH
