The Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington (POB), will host a town meeting on age-related macular degeneration on Sunday, March 2 at 2:30 p.m. at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Ernst Auditorium.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of vision loss in Americans age 60 and older. AMD is a disease that blurs “straight ahead vision,” adversely affecting the ability to drive, read and recognize faces. Experts predict that by the year 2020 incidents of AMD will reach epidemic proportions.

The AMD town meeting will feature a panel of nationally and internationally recognized experts. Emily Chew, M.D., lead investigator for the Age-Related Disease Studies I and II at the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, will moderate the state-of-the-art symposium. Panel members include Richard Garfinkel, M.D., retina specialist; Judith Goldstein, O.D., Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute; Robert Murphy, M.D., retina specialist and investigator; and Wai Wong, M.D., Ph.D., investigator, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health. Bill Paul, former executive vice president of United Technologies, will provide a patient perspective. The event will also include community resource materials and an adaptive technology exhibit will be available. It is co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington and the Senior Beacon.

“The Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington is thrilled to have these leading experts highlight current research and the effects of AMD, as well as technological innovations that can be used for adapting to possible vision loss,” said Michele Hartlove, executive director of POB. “It is our mission to provide these educational services to the Washington metropolitan community, while promoting a greater understanding of eye health.”
 
For more information on the Macular Degeneration Network, please call (202) 234-1010.