Abstract
Purpose: :
To investigate macular pigment density (MPD) in patients with Stargardt’s disease.
Methods: :
Prospective observational case series. The study included 15 eyes of 8 consecutive patients (4 men and 4 women) with a minimal visual acuity required for a good fixation during the examination. All had Stargardt’s disease with macular involvement. MPD was measured with a modified confocal SLO (Heidelberg, Germany), using the reflectance method developed by Delori et al. MPD was measured at two different radii: 0.5° and 2° from the fovea. Measurement of central macular thickness was performed using Stratus-OCT (Zeiss, Germany).
Results: :
Mean age of patients was 37.5 years (± 16.5). Mean MPD at 0.5° was 0.23 (± 0.22), and mean MPD at 2° was 0.08 (± 0.04). Central macular thickness was 144.3µm (± 39.7) on average. Two different patterns of MPD profile were observed : group n°1 was composed of patients with a flat profile, i.e. having very low MPD in both radii, and group n°2 of patients presenting a profile with a central peak, i.e. normal MPD level at 0.5° and a dramatically decrease at 2°. Patients with peak profile had a normal macular thickness, whereas those with flat profile displayed a low macular thickness. No correlations between visual acuity and MPD at 0.5°, neither between visual acuity and central macular thickness were found.
Conclusions: :
MPD in Stargardt’s disease is low. In all patients MPD at 2° is close to zero, suggesting a restricted repartition of macular pigment around the fovea. The two different patterns of MPD distribution we described could represent two different stages of the course of Stargardt’s disease. Further studies are required to confirm such hypothesis.
Keywords: macular pigment • imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound) • retinal degenerations: hereditary