Does macular degeneration lead to blindness?

Sometimes: Macular degeneration may cause little to no symptoms for some people, and central blindness in others. Fortunately the peripheral vision is not involved and is spared from the disease, so a patient is not completely blind.

It can: Depending on the type, it can either not affect vision much or lead to severe vision loss. For example, geographic atrophy can cause scarring in the macula leading to poor vision but not complete blindness. Wet amd can lead to scarring membranes and fluid buildup that also severely impairs vision but has a lot of new therapies now. Also many other treatments such as telescopes and retinal chip.

Macular degeneration: Macular degeneration is more commonly dry in form. Patients often maintain good vision. Sometimes there can be a gradual loss of vision and change in amsler grid. If there is a sudden loss of vision, this can signal development of wet macular degeneration w bleeding and you should report to ophthalmologist immediately since there are new medicines to treat this, especially if caught early.

Yes: Macular degeneration can and does lead to blindness. It is the most common cause of blindness in the elderly.