Abstract
Choroidal changes have been suggested to be involved in the pathophysiology of both age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and pachychoroid spectrum diseases (PSD). To find out the choroidal characteristics of each disease groups, various groups of AMD and PSD were classified into several clusters according to choroidal profiles based on subfoveal choroidal thickness (CT), peripapillary CT, the ratio of subfoveal CT to peripapillary CT and age. We retrospectively analyzed 661 eyes, including 190 normal controls and 471 with AMD or PSDs. In the AMD groups, eyes with soft drusen or reticular pseudodrusen were belonged to the same cluster as those with classic exudative AMD (all p < 0.001). However, eyes with pachydrusen were not clustered with eyes from other AMD groups; instead, they were classified in the same cluster as eyes from the PSD group (all p < 0.001). In the PSD group, eyes with pachychoroid neovasculopathy were grouped in the same cluster of those with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (p < 0.001). The cluster analysis based on the CT profiles, including subfoveal CT, peripapillary CT, and their ratio, revealed a clustering pattern of eyes with AMD and PSDs. These findings support the suggestion that pachydrusen has the common pathogenesis as PSD.
Highlights
Choroidal changes have been suggested to be involved in the pathophysiology of both age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and pachychoroid spectrum diseases (PSD)
Eyes with macular neovascularization (MNV) were classified as a classic exudative AMD group
AMD or PSD was classified according to the characteristics of lesions occurring in the retina and choroid, and choroidal thickness (CT) was compared between these classifications[7,30,31,32,33,34]
Summary
Choroidal changes have been suggested to be involved in the pathophysiology of both age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and pachychoroid spectrum diseases (PSD). The choroid is a vascular coat that supports the retina to maintain stable blood flow, nutrition, and temperature, and enters the back of the eye from the posterior and anterior ciliary a rtery[10,11] In many studies, both AMD and PSDs, which occur in the macula and are characterized by drusen or p achyvessel[12], have been suggested to be associated with choroidal changes in their pathophysiology[2,3,5,12]. Variables Age, mean ± SD, years Gender Female Male Hypertension Yes No Diabetes Yes No Axial length, mean ± SD, mm Classification of eyes Normal control Early AMD with soft drusen or reticular pseudodrusen Group with pachydrusen Classic exudative AMD Pachychoroid pigment epitheliopathy Pachychoroid neovasculopathy Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy
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