Central sparing in annular macular degeneration

Using fluorescein angiography and monochromatic photography, we measured the size of the central sparing in 45 patients with annular maculopathy (mean +/- S.D., 0.34 +/- 0.15 disk diameter; range, 0.10 to 0.65 disk diameter) and compared it with the size of macular yellow pigment in 40 subjects (mean +/- S.D., 0.31 +/- 0.12 disk diameter; range, 0.1 to 0.5 disk diameter). The close approximation of these values suggested that macular yellow pigment contributed to the annular pattern through a photoprotective mechanism.