Macular thickness mapping in exudative age-related macular degeneration.
OBJECTIVE
To report the feasibility of retinal thickness mapping for evaluating thickness differences in retinal areas with and without leakage shown by fluorescein angiography for patients who have age-related macular degeneration with choroidal neovascularization.


METHODS
A custom-built version of the retinal thickness analyzer was used for thickness mapping. Retinal thickness was defined as the separation between vitreoretinal and pigment epithelium-choroid interfaces. Imaging was performed in 1 eye of 10 patients with the clinical diagnoses of age-related macular degeneration and choroidal neovascularization. Patients either had never undergone photodynamic therapy at the time of measurement (untreated) or had received one or more photodynamic therapy treatments (treated). Average retinal thicknesses in selected areas with and without the presence of leakage shown by fluorescein angiography were calculated and compared statistically.


RESULTS
Retinal thickness (mean +/- SD) in areas with leakage (315 +/- 54 microm) was significantly greater than that in areas without leakage (280 +/- 28 microm) (P = 0.03). In untreated patients, areas with leakage (345 +/- 45 microm) were significantly thicker than areas without leakage (289 +/- 23 microm) (P = 0.02). In treated patients, retinal thickness in areas with leakage (271 +/- 33 microm) and without leakage (267 +/- 34 microm) was similar.


CONCLUSIONS
Retinal thickness mapping may prove to be useful as an adjunct to fluorescein angiography to monitor choroidal neovascularization and its treatment.
Shakoor
A
A
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 60612, USA.
Shahidi
M
M
Blair
N P
NP
Gieser
J P
JP
Zelkha
R
R
D000368:Aged; D002199:Capillary Permeability; D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D003941:Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological; D005122:Exudates and Transudates; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D008266:Macula Lutea / Q000473:pathology*; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D014792:Visual Acuity