Australia: Study on Reticular Pseudodrusen and Age-Related Macular Degeneration

The presence of reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) in people with intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is not significantly associated with an increased risk of developing late AMD, states a recent study. The study appears in the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

The study was conducted by Zhichao Wu, Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues with an objective to examine the association between reticular pseudodrusen and progression to late age-related macular degeneration in individuals with intermediate AMD in a prospective cohort study.

The study included 280 eyes from 140 participants with bilateral large drusen who underwent multimodal imaging (MMI), including optical coherence tomography (OCT), near-infrared reflectance (NIR), fundus autofluorescence, and color fundus photography (CFP). They were followed over a period of 36 months at 6-monthly intervals. RPD presence per eye was determined based on either combined MMI criteria, as well as based on each individual imaging modality, and their extent measured on combined OCT and NIR imaging.

The researchers also evaluated the association between the presence of RPD on different imaging modalities, and their extent, to the development of late AMD (including OCT-defined atrophy).

Study Findings

• The presence of RPD on MMI, or any of its individual modalities at baseline, was not significantly associated with an increased rate of developing late AMD, with or without adjusting for risk factors for AMD progression (age, drusen volume on OCT, and pigmentary abnormalities on CFP).
• The extent of RPD present was also not significantly associated with an increased rate of developing late AMD, with or without adjustment for risk factors for AMD progression.

"Based on the results, they revealed that there is a need for additional longitudinal studies in all stages of AMD to understand the implications of RPD on vision loss in this condition," the researchers concluded.

Reference

The study titled, "Reticular Pseudodrusen on the Risk of Progression in Intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration," was published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajo.2022.03.007