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Even though the degree of damage caused by macular degeneration varies from person to person, there are 2 broad categories of macular degeneration. These can be classified as wet macular degeneration and dry macular degeneration. There are various other types of macular degeneration as well. Some of them are age related macular degeneration (AMD) while the others are hereditary types. Some of the hereditary types are Vitelliform (Bests), Fundus Flavimaculatus (Stargardts), Central Areolar Choroidal atrophy and Cone degeneration. Toxic is caused by Plaquenil (prescribed for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis). Certain major tranquilizers when used over a long term in high dosages can also result in macular degeneration.

One of the most common types of macular degeneration is dry AMD, and this accounts for 90% of the total cases. The medical terms for dry AMD are atrophic AMD, geographic atrophy, non-exudative or drusenoid macular degeneration. In dry AMD, yellow-white deposits called drusen accumulate in the retinal pigment epithelium tissue beneath the macula. Drusen deposits are mainly composed of waste products from photoreceptor cells. RPE tissues due to certain unknown reasons lose its ability to process waste. These deposits are thought to interfere with the function of photoreceptors in the macula, further causing progressive degeneration of these cells. Drusen deposits can otherwise also be present in the retina without vision loss. Vision loss from dry macular degeneration occurs very gradually over the course of several years.

Wet macular degeneration accounts for only about 10% of the total cases. Wet macular degeneration is also called as choroidal neovascularization, subretinal neovascularization, exudative or disciform degeneration. In this type, abnormal blood vessel growth forms beneath the macula. These vessels leak blood and fluid into the macula damaging photoreceptor cells and as it tends to progress rapidly, it causes severe damage to central vision.

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