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Retinal arteriolar changes may affect ARM progression
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Structural retinal arteriolar changes may either contribute to age-related macular degeneration progression or may share common pathological pathways with age-related maculopathy, according to analysis of data from a large, population-based study.
Jie Jin Want, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Sydney, Australia, analyzed data from the Blue Mountains Eye Study to assess two types of retinal arteriolar wall changes: focal narrowing or arteriovenous nicking. The cohort-based study included 3,654 residents 49 years of age or more, of which 2,335 participants were re-examined at 5-year follow-up.
Of the 2,314 baseline participants at risk of late stage age-related maculopathy (ARM), either type of late stage lesion — narrowing or nicking — developed in 34 (1.5%). Of the 2,203 participants at risk of early stage ARM, either type of late stage lesion developed in 197 (8.9%). Over the course of 5 years, 4.9% of participants with and 1.2% of participants without focal narrowing developed either lesion. Likewise, 3.7% of subjects with and 1.3% of those without severe arteriovenous nicking developed late ARM lesions. No associations between baseline central retinal arteriolar equivalent and the 5-year incidence of late or early stage ARM were found.
The study is published in the January issue of British Journal of Ophthalmology.