title: Relationship between retinal morphological findings and visual function in age-related macular degeneration.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We aimed to study the retinal morphological findings associated with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and their association with visual prognosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 96 consecutive patients (96 eyes) with exudative AMD. Retinal structural changes were examined using optical coherence tomography (OCT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Initial OCT examination showed cystoid macular edema in 18 eyes (18.8%), fibrin exudate in 56 eyes (58.3%), and hyperreflective foci within the neurosensory retina in 78 eyes (81.3%). Upon initial examination, an external limiting membrane (ELM) line was detected under the fovea in 64 eyes (66.7%). Using Pearson’s correlation analyses, final visual acuity (VA) was correlated with initial VA (r = 0.61, p < 0.001), age (r = 0.34, p < 0.001), initial total foveal thickness (r = 0.41, p < 0.001), presence of hyperreflective foci (r = 0.40, p < 0.001), and detection of a foveal ELM line (r = 0.55, p < 0.001). After multiple regression analysis, final VA correlated with initial VA (r = 0.48, p < 0.001), initial presence of hyperreflective foci (r = 0.23, p = 0.054), and detection of a foveal ELM line (r = 0.36, p = 0.008).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In eyes with exudative AMD, final VA was most correlated with initial VA. In addition, the initial integrity of the foveal outer retina was partially correlated with the visual prognosis. The initial ELM condition was associated with good final VA, while the initial presence of hyperreflective foci in the foveal neurosensory retina was associated with poor final VA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akagi-Kurashige
authors.forename: Akitaka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsujikawa
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oishi
authors.forename: Sotaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ooto
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamashiro
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: Isao
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nakata
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ueda-Arakawa
authors.forename: Nagahisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005122:Exudates and Transudates; D005260:Female; D005337:Fibrin / Q000378:metabolism; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D011379:Prognosis; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D057135:Wet Macular Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D005337:Fibrin