CHANGES OF DRUSEN NUMBER AND CENTRAL RETINAL THICKNESS IN AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION PATIENTS OVER TWO YEARS

Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the leading cause of blindness in developed world but there are still much unknown facts about the disease itself. Age, genetic factors and smoking are the three main risk factors for the development of ARMD, but the exact pathophysiological mechanism of the disease remains unknown. Current high resolution optical coherence tomography devices provide ample new information on retinal layers, drusen characteristics and their interaction. In this study, we analyzed 44 eyes with drusiform dry ARMD using high resolution optical coherence tomography over a 2-year period. Our results showed a statistically significant increase in drusen number in both females and males in the 2-year period. On average, increment by 4 and 5 drusen per eye during the 2-year period was recorded in female and male patients with drusiform dry ARMD, respectively. Also, statistical analysis of the central retinal thickness showed that women with drusiform dry ARMD had a statistically significantly thinner macula than their male counterparts.