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Study: Autofluorescence effective in determining risk for AMD

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A recent study characterizing peripheral fundus autofluorescence abnormalities in age-related macular degeneration patients found that type of macular degeneration, the female sex and age were independent risk factors for the development of the disease in patients.

In the study, fundus autofluorescence (FAF) and color images were obtained from 119 consecutive patients (100 with AMD, 19 without) by the Optos 200Tx Ultra-Widefield device (Optos, Dunfermline, Scotland) using a standardized imaging protocol. The main outcome measures of this study were the presence and type of peripheral FAF abnormalities.

Peripheral FAF abnormalities were evident in 164 eyes (68.9%), with several distinct FAF patterns identified, including granular (46.2%), mottled (34.0%) and nummular (18.1%), according to the study.

Abnormal FAF occurred more frequently in neovascular compared with non-neovascular AMD or normal eyes (86% vs. 72.8% vs. 18.4%, respectively, P < .001).

Significant risk factors for peripheral FAF abnormalities were AMD type (P < .001), older age (P < .001 for the oldest quartile compared with the youngest) and female sex (P < .001).

There was a high correlation between specific FAF and clinical findings, including granular FAF with peripheral drusen (P < .001) and mottled FAF with retinal pigment epithelium depigmentation (P < .001).