[Serum lipids and vitamins in senile macular degeneration]

P6e correlations between serum cholesterol, triglycerides and lipoproteins and serum vitamins A and E were tested in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Patients diagnosed as having "senile" macular degeneration who were not receiving medical treatment that would interfere with lipid or vitamin metabolism consecutively underwent-fundus photography and fluorescein angiography in a 6-month period. Cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), vitamin A and E were assayed using conventional methods (enzymatic and high-performance liquid chromatography). Sixty-four angiographies from 64 patients were evaluated. The clinical diagnosis was: "hard" drusen (n = 5), geographic atrophy (25), "soft" drusen (10), subretinal neovascularization and disciform scar (24). The percentage of pathological data was calculated: HDL, 89%; cholesterol, 84%; vitamin A, 75%, LDL, 66%; Vitamin E, 33%; triglycerides, 23%. The data differed somewhat between groups. The high prevalence of hypercholesterolemia in older age groups [3, 34] prevents cholesterol from being identified as a risk factor for AMD. Elevated levels of atherogenic LDL and reduced vitamin A are discussed versus "protective" HDL and vitamin E. In many of the AMD cases described, the cardiovascular risks of dyslipoproteinemia demand adequate therapy.