Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Blindness due to Neovascular Maculopathy

TLDR

Age‑related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in the U.S., manifests as atrophic or neovascular/exudative lesions, the latter being relatively uncommon. The study aimed to determine the proportion of legally blind patients whose blindness is due to the neovascular/exudative form of AMD. Data from the Framingham Eye Study and a large case‑control study show that 79% and 90% of legally blind eyes, respectively, had neovascular/exudative retinopathy, indicating that most legal blindness from AMD is due to this form.

Abstract

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the four most common causes of blindness in the United States. Retinal manifestations of AMD can be categorized as either atrophic or neovascular/exudative. To the best of our knowledge, the proportion of patients legally blind due to the neovascular/exudative manifestations of this disease has not been previously reported. Data from two studies, the Framingham Eye Study and a large case-control study, demonstrate that the vast majority of patients with legal blindness due to AMD have the neovascular/exudative form of the disease. Seventy-nine percent of eyes legally blind due to AMD in the Framingham population and 90% of eyes legally blind due to AMD in the case-control study had neovascular/exudative retinopathy. This is in spite of the fact that neovascular/exudative retinopathy is a relatively infrequent complication of AMD.