[Dry senile maculopathy: prevention and treatment in risky cases]

In 33 cases of advanced unilateral dry senile maculopathy in which the fellow eye showed initial affection but still had a visual acuity of 6/12, the visual acuity of the better eye was preserved in 27 cases for an average of 4 years and 2 months by sustained intramuscular injections of retinal phosphatides (Etaretin). Four cases did not respond to the therapy and 2 patients may be considered borderline cases. If one eye approaches a terminal stage, sustained phosphatide treatment should be instituted as soon as initial retinal lesions appear in the fellow eye. The incorporation of radioactively labelled phospholipids in the retina following subcutaneous applications has been demonstrated in animal experiments. The quantity of the incorporated phospholipids may be considered sufficient for a therapeutic effect. A further thorough clinical investigation would be desirable.