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Updated: Sep 30, 2025
Author Spotlight: Ex Vivo OCT-Based Multimodal Imaging of Human Donor Eyes for Research into Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Published on: May 26, 2023
Reticular Pseudodrusen on the Risk of Progression in Intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Zhichao Wu1, Himeesh Kumar1, Lauren A B Hodgson2
1Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (Z.W., H.K., L.A.B.H., R.H.G.), East Melbourne, Australia; Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery, the University of Melbourne (Z.W., H.K., R.H.G.), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Purpose:
To examine the association between reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) and progression to late age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in individuals with intermediate AMD.
Design:
Prospective cohort study.
Methods:
Two hundred eighty eyes from 140 participants with bilateral large drusen underwent multimodal imaging (MMI), including optical coherence tomography (OCT), near-infrared reflectance (NIR), fundus autofluorescence, and color fundus photography (CFP), at 6-monthly intervals up over a 36-month follow-up period. The presence of RPD per eye was determined based on either a combined MMI criterion, or each individual imaging modality, and their extent measured on combined OCT and NIR imaging. The association between the presence of RPD on different imaging modalities, and their extent, with the development of late AMD (including OCT-defined atrophy) was evaluated.
Results:
The presence of RPD on MMI, or any of its individual modalities, at baseline was not significantly associated with an increased rate of developing late AMD, with or without adjusting for risk factors for AMD progression (age, drusen volume on OCT, and pigmentary abnormalities on CFP; all P ≥ 0.205). The extent of RPD present was also not significantly associated with an increased rate of developing late AMD, with or without adjustment for risk factors for AMD progression (both P ≥ 0.522).
Conclusions:
In this cohort with bilateral large drusen, the presence of RPD was not significantly associated with an increased risk of developing late AMD. Additional longitudinal studies in all stages of AMD are needed to understand the implications of RPD on vision loss in this condition.
