Relations between fundus appearance and function. Eyes whose fellow eye has exudative age-related macular degeneration.
Foveal visual function was compared with fundus appearance for 41 eyes that had good acuity but whose fellow eye had exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The visual functions tested were among those reported to be compromised by AMD. They included: (1) dark adaptation, (2) absolute sensitivity, (3) S cone-mediated sensitivity, and (4) color matching. The fundus features used to evaluate the risk of developing exudative AMD included: (1) drusen confluence, (2) drusen size, and (3) focal hyperpigmentation. For the group of eyes defined by the presence of one or more high-risk fundus characteristics, all visual functions were compromised significantly. In particular, all 21 eyes with abnormally slow rates of dark adaptation had high-risk fundi, and all 16 eyes with abnormal color matching (ie, a small effect of test area on the color match or rejection of all potential color matches) had high-risk fundi. Conversely, 30 of the 32 eyes with high-risk fundi had abnormally slow rates of dark adaptation or abnormal color matching. In addition, reduced acuity in the fellow exudative eye was associated significantly with a high-risk fundus in the nonexudative eye.
Eisner
A
A
Department of Ophthalmology, Good Samaritan Hospital and Medical Center, Portland, Oregon.
Stoumbos
V D
VD
Klein
M L
ML
Fleming
S A
SA
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D003118:Color Perception; D003623:Dark Adaptation; D005260:Female; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010781:Photography; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells; D015593:Retinal Drusen / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D014785:Vision, Ocular; D014792:Visual Acuity