Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To examine the use of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in detecting early progression of dry age–related macular degeneration (AMD) to wet AMD. Methods: Approximately 30 patients with dry AMD in one eye and wet AMD in the fellow eye had their dry AMD eye monitored every 3 months with OCT III and a dilated eye exam. Results: 5 patients showed definite or suspicious signs of disease progression in their dry AMD eye. OCT showed pathological changes in all 5 patients, however in 3 of these patients dilated ophthalmoscopy and fluorescein angiography results were normal. Drusen increasing in height, sub–retinal fluid, sub–RPE fluid, RPE breaks, and outer retinal disorganization seem to be the very earliest signs of disease progression that are visible with OCT. Conclusions: The images provided by OCT provide valuable details on the progression of dry AMD to wet AMD and may allow the earliest possible detection. Serial OCT may be a useful monitoring tool in patients who are at high risk for transitioning from dry to wet AMD. Further study is warranted to learn more about AMD progression and how it is represented on OCT.
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound)