Macular thickness and volume in the elderly: A systematic review

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Gerontology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Ageing causes significant physiological changes throughout the body, including the macula.
• Optical coherence tomography (OCT) allows for detailed in vivo imaging of macular structures.
• Understanding age-related macular changes is crucial for diagnosing and managing eye diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review existing literature on age-related changes in macular thickness and volume.
• To provide an overview of how ageing manifests in the macula of the elderly using clinical measures.
• To correlate in vivo findings with previously observed histological changes.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of 49 studies involving 9115 participants and 11,577 eyes.
• Focus on clinical measurements of macular thicknesses and volumes.
• Analysis of data from optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging.

Main Results:

• Ageing appears to increase center point foveal thickness.
• No significant change in center subfield thickness was observed with ageing.
• Ageing leads to decreased inner and outer macular thickness, and overall macular thickness and volume.
• Specific retinal layers and locations contribute to these observed changes.

Conclusions:

• Age-related macular changes, including alterations in thickness and volume, are measurable in vivo using OCT.
• These findings support and quantify age-related changes previously suggested by histological studies.
• Further research is needed to understand measurement variability and the direct contribution of ageing to macular disease development.