Abstract
To explore predisease biomarkers, which may help screen for the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at very early stages, macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and photoreceptor outer segment (PROS) length were analyzed. Thirty late AMD fellow eyes, which are at high risk and represent the predisease condition of AMD, were evaluated and compared with 30 age-matched control eyes without retinal diseases; there was no early AMD involvement in the AMD fellow eyes. MPOD was measured using MPS2® (M.E. Technica Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan), and PROS length was measured based on optical coherence tomography images. MPOD levels and PROS length in the AMD fellow eyes were significantly lower and shorter, respectively, than in control eyes. MPOD and PROS length were positively correlated in control eyes (R = 0.386; p = 0.035) but not in AMD fellow eyes. Twenty (67%) AMD fellow eyes met the criteria of MPOD < 0.65 and/or PROS length < 35 μm, while only five (17%) control eyes did. After adjusting for age and sex, AMD fellow eyes more frequently satisfied the definition (p < 0.001; 95% confidence interval, 3.50–60.4; odds ratio, 14.6). The combination of MPOD and PROS length may be a useful biomarker for screening predisease AMD patients, although further studies are required in this regard.
Highlights
Recent progress in medical science has improved the prognosis of blinding diseases; age-related macular degeneration (AMD) remains a leading cause of blindness worldwide [1,2]
These interventions are currently recommended for patients with early AMD, which is characterized by the presence of drusen and/or pigment abnormalities in the retina, and large-scale clinical studies, such as the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and AREDS2 [3,4], have shown that they were significantly effective in preventing progression to late AMD during 5 years of follow-up in patients with early AMD
macular pigment optical density (MPOD) measurement was performed with best correction, and by using a series of stimuli programmed by the manufacturer
Summary
Recent progress in medical science has improved the prognosis of blinding diseases; age-related macular degeneration (AMD) remains a leading cause of blindness worldwide [1,2]. As the retina is a neural tissue and may sustain irreversible changes once damaged, preventive therapy is advised [3,4], and recommendations such as regular intake of micronutrient supplements and giving up smoking are emphasized in the guidelines for AMD prevention [5] (http://www.nichigan.or.jp/ member/guideline/aging_macular_degeneration.pdf) These interventions are currently recommended for patients with early AMD, which is characterized by the presence of drusen and/or pigment abnormalities in the retina (i.e., fundus), and large-scale clinical studies, such as the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and AREDS2 [3,4], have shown that they were significantly effective in preventing progression to late AMD during 5 years of follow-up in patients with early AMD. The current results may reveal earlier biomarkers of AMD than drusen and/or pigment abnormalities as observed in fundus photographs and help establish sensitive indicators that can be used in a medical checkup
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