Abstract
PURPOSE. Reduction of the ellipsoid zone (EZ) intensity has been reported in eyes with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study determined whether overall EZ intensity, in retinal locations undisturbed by pathologic features, is associated with the presence of clinical features, which are known important phenotypic risk factors for disease progression, large drusen, reticular pseudodrusen (RPD), and pigmentary abnormalities. METHODS. A horizontal B-scan through the foveola on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) was performed in both eyes of 75 participants with bilateral intermediate AMD and 10 age-similar control participants. Eyes with AMD were classified as per the presence of large drusen, RPD, and hyperpigmentary changes. The relative EZ intensity profile, up to an eccentricity of 3400 lm, was averaged over seven 1000-lm retinal segments. The association between relative EZ intensity profile over seven retinal segments and AMD pathologic features was analyzed. RESULTS. The average relative EZ intensities were significantly reduced in eyes with intermediate AMD compared to normal eyes (P ≤ 0.025) and with increasing age (P ≤ 0.020). On multivariate analyses, only the presence of hyperpigmentary changes and increasing age were significantly associated with reduced overall relative intensities (P ≤ 0.024), but not the presence of large drusen or RPD (P ≥ 0.115). CONCLUSIONS. The presence of hyperpigmentary change in the macula in association with large drusen, not large drusen alone, nor large drusen with RPD, was significantly associated with a generalised reduction in EZ intensity. Quantitative assessment of the relative EZ intensity may serve as an effective biomarker of disease severity and progression.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2079-2086 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science |
Volume | 58 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2017 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Ellipsoid zone
- Inner-segment ellipsoids
- Reticular pseudodrusen
- Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography