Non-exudative Age-related Macular Degeneration

Study Summary

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most prevalent cause of vision loss in developed countries and is often discussed in terms of the "dry" and the "wet" forms. The "wet" form of AMD is the more advanced form of the disease and is responsible for 80% of the legal blindness in AMD. Treatment options include a promising class of biologics called anti-vascular endothelial growth factors, as well as photodynamic therapy and laser surgery. These therapies can slow further vision loss, but cannot achieve recovery of lost vision. The "wet" form of AMD is always preceded by the "dry" form. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that the early detection and treatment of the "dry" form may help reduce vision loss or progression to the more damaging "wet" form. Unfortunately, symptoms appear only in advanced stages of the "dry" form. As light sensitive cells in the macula breakdown in a process called geographic atrophy, the patient may notice blurred central vision. OCT is an imaging technology that can perform non-contact cross-sectional imaging of retinal and choroidal tissue structure in real time. It is analogous to ultrasound B-mode imaging, except that OCT measures the intensity of reflected light rather than acoustical waves. This study aims is to use OCT technology to compare how the retinal anatomy and blood flow differ within three severity groupings of non-exudative age-related macular degeneration (NEAMD).