Visual-function tests for self-monitoring of age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of severe visual impairment in the United States. Changes in lifestyle can slow the progression of AMD, and new therapies that arrest choroidal neovascularization can preserve vision in patients who progress to the neovascular form of advanced AMD. Appropriate timing is required for these interventions to be optimally effective, which, in turn, depends critically on early diagnosis. Because annual or semiannual eye examinations may not be sufficient to ensure an early diagnosis, the preferred practice for AMD management must include self-monitoring by patients for disease onset or progression. In this review, we discuss a number of visual functions that have been shown to be impaired in eyes with AMD and specify desirable characteristics of visual-function tests that can be used for self-monitoring by populations at risk for AMD.