Age-Related Macular Degeneration
- 0About this program
- 1What is Age-Related Macular Degeneration?
- 2What is the macula?
- 3What are the symptoms?
- 4How is AMD diagnosed?
- 5How to use an Amsler grid
- 6How is AMD treated?
- 7What is Charles Bonnet Syndrome?
- 8What do these hallucinations look like?
- 9Why do these hallucinations happen?
- 10Can you stop these hallucinations?
- 11What do we still need to know?
- 12Support
- 0About this program
- 1What is Age-Related Macular Degeneration?
- 2What is the macula?
- 3What are the symptoms?
- 4How is AMD diagnosed?
- 5How to use an Amsler grid
- 6How is AMD treated?
- 7What is Charles Bonnet Syndrome?
- 8What do these hallucinations look like?
- 9Why do these hallucinations happen?
- 10Can you stop these hallucinations?
- 11What do we still need to know?
- 12Support
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
What do we still need to know?
More research into Charles Bonnet syndrome is needed. For example, we do not know why only some people with sight loss have hallucinations. We do not know how to stop the spontaneous firing without affecting other brain activities.
One thing that is certain is that hallucinations do not mean the person is mentally ill.
However bizarre, frightening or funny their content, Charles Bonnet hallucinations are no more than a normal brain’s response to reduced visual input. While they may be an inconvenience, they are not a cause for concern.
Will there be a treatment available soon?
Treatment, if any, might depend on establishing whether there are any other causes apart from eye disease. Some people can be helped with drugs used to treat other conditions such as anti-epileptic or anti-dementia drugs.
A Macular Society-funded trial of a new treatment for visual hallucinations has reported exciting early results. Researchers tested a technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on six people with CBS. Four of them reported that their hallucinations became less intense or smaller, and none had any significant side effects.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.