title: Lipofuscin- and melanin-related fundus autofluorescence in patients with submacular idiopathic choroidal neovascularization.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare melanin-related near-infrared fundus autofluorescence (NIA; excitation 787 nm, emission> 800 nm) with lipofuscin-related fundus autofluorescence (FAF; excitation 488 nm, emission > 500 nm) in patients with idiopathic choroidal neovascularization (ICNV).
  
  
  METHODS
  FAF, NIA, fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) were obtained using a confocal scanning laser Ophthalmoscope HRA2 (Heidelberg Retina Angiograph 2) in 18 eyes of 18 patients with ICNV.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighteen eyes had classic CNV, and autofluorescence imaging showed hypoautofluorescence at the site of CNV. A well-defined hyperautofluorescent ring was detected surrounding the CNV in all 18 eyes with NIA imaging. In our sample, the FAF patterns around the CNV were classified as normal (n=1, 5.56%), well-defined hyperautofluorescent ring (n=7, 38.89%), or ill-defined hyperautofluorescent ring (n=10, 55.56%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The patterns of FAF and NIA indicated different involvement of lipofuscin and melanin in the pathophysiological process of ICNV. Compared to FAF imaging, NIA imaging appears to be a superior noninvasive method for in vivo visualization of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) abnormalities in ICNV patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Rehabilitation Center Hospital of Gansu, Lanzhou 730000, China. xijiapeng480@sohu.com
authors.forename: Xijia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Wenfang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006801:Humans; D008062:Lipofuscin; D008543:Melanins; D008875:Middle Aged; D019721:Ophthalmoscopes; D012164:Retinal Diseases; D055213:Retinal Pigment Epithelium
chemical_list: D008062:Lipofuscin; D008543:Melanins