Impaired Mesopic Visual Acuity in Eyes with Early Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Introduction. Macula lutea is the central part of the retina and it houses carotenoid macular pigments - lutein, zeaxanthin, and meso-zeaxanthin. It is considered that carotenoids can prevent or slow down the progression of the early age-related macular degeneration in some patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effects of supplementation with all three macular pigments on vision quality in patients with early agerelated macular degeneration. Material and Methods. This prospective study included 15 patients (25 eyes in total) with early age-related macular degeneration. All visual tests - visual acuity, glare sensation and contrast sensitivity, were performed at baseline and after 6 months of continuous supplementation with 10 mg lutein, 2 mg zeaxanthin, and 10 mg mesozeaxanthin. Results. The results showed that glare sensitivity improved in 20% of cases. Most of the examined eyes (76%) presented without visual acuity deterioration. Similar results were obtained for the contrast sensitivity test, where in 80% of cases vision quality remained stable or improved. There were no statistically significant differences between average values of examined parameters at baseline and after 6 months of supplementation. Conclusion. In most of the examined eyes (over 75%) visual quality remained stable or improvement of measured parameters was observed. This type of supplementation may improve visual performance or its preservation in patients with early age-related macular degeneration.

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A Longitudinal Follow-Up Study of Saffron Supplementation in Early Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Sustained Benefits to Central Retinal Function

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1155/2012/429124 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

M. Piccardi ◽

D. Marangoni ◽

A. M. Minnella ◽

M. C. Savastano ◽

P. Valentini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Visual Acuity ◽

Macular Degeneration ◽

Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽

Early Age ◽

Open Label ◽

Macular Function ◽

Age Related ◽

Baseline Values ◽

Reciprocal Value

Objectives. In a previous randomized clinical trial (Falsini et al. (2010)), it was shown that short-term Saffron supplementation improves retinal flicker sensitivity in early age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the observed functional benefits from Saffron supplementation may extend over a longer follow-up duration.Design. Longitudinal, interventional open-label study.Setting. Outpatient ophthalmology setting.Participants. Twenty-nine early AMD patients (age range: 55–85 years) with a baseline visual acuity >0.3.Intervention. Saffron oral supplementation (20 mg/day) over an average period of treatment of 14 (±2) months.Measurements. Clinical examination and focal-electroretinogram-(fERG-) derived macular (18°) flicker sensitivity estimate (Falsini et al. (2010)) every three months over a followup of 14 (±2) months. Retinal sensitivity, the reciprocal value of the estimated fERG amplitude threshold, was the main outcome measure.Results. After three months of supplementation, mean fERG sensitivity improved by 0.3 log units compared to baseline values (P<0.01), and mean visual acuity improved by two Snellen lines compared to baseline values (0.75 to 0.9,P<0.01). These changes remained stable over the follow-up period.Conclusion. These results indicate that in early AMD Saffron supplementation induces macular function improvements from baseline that are extended over a long-term followup.

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Near-infrared fundus autofluorescence in early age-related macular degeneration

European Journal of Ophthalmology ◽

10.1177/1120672119885047 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (6) ◽

pp. 1448-1453

Author(s):

Maurizio Battaglia Parodi ◽

Pierluigi Iacono ◽

Alexandros Papayannis ◽

Giorgio Alto ◽

Alessio Buzzotta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Visual Acuity ◽

Macular Degeneration ◽

Short Wavelength ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Fundus Autofluorescence ◽

Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽

Early Age ◽

Corrected Visual Acuity ◽

Age Related ◽

Best Corrected Visual Acuity

Purpose: To describe the patterns on near-infrared fundus autofluorescence in eyes affected by early age-related macular degeneration. Design: Cross-sectional observational case series. Participants: A total of 84 eyes of 84 patients suffering from early age-related macular degeneration (>63 μm but <125 μm drusen and no-to-mild retinal pigment epithelium abnormalities) were enrolled. Methods: Patients underwent best-corrected visual acuity, biomicroscopy, infrared reflectance, short-wavelength fundus autofluorescence, and near-infrared fundus autofluorescence. Eyes were classified according to different patterns of near-infrared fundus autofluorescence. Main outcome was definition of relative prevalence and features of each near-infrared fundus autofluorescence pattern; secondary outcomes were correlation between near-infrared fundus autofluorescence and short-wavelength fundus autofluorescence and between near-infrared fundus autofluorescence patterns and best-corrected visual acuity. Results: Four different patterns of near-infrared fundus autofluorescence identified: normal foveal signal (Pattern A, 7%); normal foveal signal with hyperautofluorescent/hypoautofluorescent spots not involving the fovea (Pattern B, 65.5%); hyperautofluorescent/hypoautofluorescent spots involving the fovea (Pattern C, 15.5%); patchy pattern (Pattern D, 12%). best-corrected visual acuity was lower in eyes with foveal signal alteration (Patterns C and D). Conclusion: Near-infrared fundus autofluorescence pattern in early age-related macular degeneration might be suggestive of visual function deterioration when the fovea is involved. Longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm our preliminary results.

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Changes in visual acuity in patients with dry form of age-related macular degeneration after low-energy light therapy and medication

Oftalmologicheskii Zhurnal ◽

10.31288/oftalmolzh201652228 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 63 (5) ◽

pp. 22-28

Author(s):

A. Sergienko ◽

◽

N. Dzyuba ◽

Keyword(s):

Visual Acuity ◽

Macular Degeneration ◽

Light Therapy ◽

Low Energy ◽

Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽

Age Related

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Genetic biomarkers in the VEGF pathway predicting response to anti-VEGF therapy in age-related macular degeneration

BMJ Open Ophthalmology ◽

10.1136/bmjophth-2019-000273 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. e000273

Author(s):

Irina Balikova ◽

Laurence Postelmans ◽

Brigitte Pasteels ◽

Pascale Coquelet ◽

Janet Catherine ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Visual Acuity ◽

Macular Degeneration ◽

Treatment Response ◽

Multiple Testing ◽

Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽

Patient Specific ◽

Multiple Testing Correction ◽

Anti Vegf ◽

Age Related ◽

Vegf Pathway

ObjectiveAge-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is a leading cause of visual impairment. Intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are the standard treatment for wet ARMD. There is however, variability in patient responses, suggesting patient-specific factors influencing drug efficacy. We tested whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding VEGF pathway members contribute to therapy response.Methods and analysisA retrospective cohort of 281 European wet ARMD patients treated with anti-VEGF was genotyped for 138 tagging SNPs in the VEGF pathway. Per patient, we collected best corrected visual acuity at baseline, after three loading injections and at 12 months. We also registered the injection number and changes in retinal morphology after three loading injections (central foveal thickness (CFT), intraretinal cysts and serous neuroepithelium detachment). Changes in CFT after 3 months were our primary outcome measure. Association of SNPs to response was assessed by binomial logistic regression. Replication was attempted by associating visual acuity changes to genotypes in an independent Japanese cohort.ResultsAssociation with treatment response was detected for seven SNPs, including in FLT4 (rs55667289: OR=0.746, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.88, p=0.0005) and KDR (rs7691507: OR=1.056, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.10, p=0.005; and rs2305945: OR=0.963, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.00, p=0.0472). Only association with rs55667289 in FLT4 survived multiple testing correction. This SNP was unavailable for testing in the replication cohort. Of six SNPs tested for replication, one was significant although not after multiple testing correction.ConclusionIdentifying genetic variants that define treatment response can help to develop individualised therapeutic approaches for wet ARMD patients and may point towards new targets in non-responders.

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