Drusen subregion staining may not be linked to macula drusen in AMD

Drusen subregion staining may not be directly linked to in vivo observations of macula drusen in age-related macula degeneration (AMD), states a paper in the journal Retina.

Dr Duncan Friedman et al., Department of Ophthalmology, School of medicine, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama, USA, evaluated macula drusen from 35 patients with AMD. This was completed by measuring drusen area with colour digital images and fluorescein angiograms.

In total, 828 drusen were assessed and 405 of these presented with a corresponding fluorescein angiogram signal. Drusen was stained in 49.57% of patients and drusen measured in fluorescein images did not significantly differ from drusen sizes measured by colour digital images.

The study discovered that the current understanding of drusen subregion staining is not directly linked to in vivo observations found in AMD macula drusen.