Drusen do not cause total blindness, but can result in central vision loss. Central vision allows us to focus on details straight ahead. People with more soft and larger drusen, are at higher risk of experiencing this type of vision loss in the future than people with fewer and smaller drusen.

Does drusen always cause macular degeneration?

Drusen are typically associated with age-related macular degeneration in people over the age of 60; however they can arise as hereditary degenerations in young people. Drusen are a risk factor for macular degeneration but having drusen does NOT mean you have macular degeneration.

How do you reverse a drusen?

A small clinical trial at Harvard has shown that some patients with very large drusen in the center of the retina can have their drusen size reduced and vision improved by a relatively high dose statin treatment. Statins are drugs prescribed by doctors to help lower cholesterol levels in the blood.