title: Noninvasive detection of macular pigments in the human eye.
abstract: There is currently strong interest in developing noninvasive technologies for the detection of macular carotenoid pigments in the human eye. These pigments, consisting of lutein and zeaxanthin, are taken up from the diet and are thought to play an important role in the prevention of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly in the Western world. It may be possible to prevent or delay the onset of this debilitating disease with suitable dietary intervention strategies. We review the most commonly used detection techniques based on heterochromatic flicker photometry, fundus reflectometry, and autofluorescense techniques and put them in perspective with recently developed more molecule-specific Raman detection methods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Dixon Laser Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. werner@physics.utah.edu
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gellermann
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Bernstein
mesh_terms: D002338:Carotenoids / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D005123:Eye / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D014975:Lutein / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008266:Macula Lutea / Q000737:chemistry*; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D010783:Photometry / Q000379:methods*; D012168:Retinal Pigments / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods*; D024341:Xanthophylls; D065146:Zeaxanthins; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012168:Retinal Pigments; D024341:Xanthophylls; D065146:Zeaxanthins; D019207:beta Carotene; D002338:Carotenoids; D014975:Lutein