Protective effect of occlusion on disciform degeneration

One patient developed disciform degeneration and loss of central vision despite laser application. Sixty-two years before, the contralateral eye had sustained a penetrating steel injury with subsequent scarring and pupillary membrane and cataract formation. This eye, when surgically rehabilitated, showed no signs of macular degeneration. Although alluded to, we know of no other known cases of occluded eyes being spared of senile macular degeneration reported in the literature. We postulate that unfiltered, ambient light may be the cause of macular degeneration and suggest that more emphasis should be placed on prevention of macular degeneration by the use of protective eye wear.