title: Blue-on-yellow perimetry with a scanning laser ophthalmoscope: small alterations in the central macula with aging.
abstract: The sensitivity of short-wavelength-sensitive (SWS) cone pathways was measured in the central fields of 74 normal subjects, aged 17-86 yr, with healthy maculas. The new fundus perimetry technique used a research scanning laser ophthalmoscope with a small entrance pupil to present blue static perimetry targets on a bright yellow background. Simultaneous infrared imaging aided target positioning and rapid assessment of potential pathology in elderly subjects. Targets were positioned peripheral to fixation, avoiding both the SWS-cone-free area and the peak macular pigment, determined in 11 subjects. Sensitivity declined 0.019 log unit per decade, while intraindividual variability across loci increased. The nasal-temporal asymmetry remained constant. Sensitivity of older subjects was relatively less for the most central targets but was unrelated to transmission through macular pigment. Retinal changes with age occur to differing extents or at differing rates and are readily detectable in the central macula.
authors.affiliation: Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114-2500, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Remky
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Elsner
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Morandi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Beausencourt
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Trempe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D003116:Color; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D008266:Macula Lutea / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009887:Ophthalmoscopy; D012016:Reference Values; D012168:Retinal Pigments / Q000502:physiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D058609:Visual Field Tests / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D014794:Visual Fields
chemical_list: D012168:Retinal Pigments