"Associate Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, Karen M. Gehrs, M.D. from the University of Iowa used the childhood toy, the Lite Brite to explain what having AMD is like. Basically, having macular degeneration is like losing pegs from the picture on a Lite Brite. Each time you lose a peg, it's like a cell dying. If you lose cells randomly, you can still have a good idea of what the picture is. In the more severe forms of AMD, you'll lose patches of pegs. That can make the original picture harder and harder to decipher."