Relative effects of aging and age-related macular degeneration on peripheral visual function

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of peripheral visual deficits in patients with early age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) using electrophysiological and psychophysical techniques. Dark-adaptation curves, electro-oculograms (EOGs), and electroretinograms (ERGs) were obtained from patients with early ARMD and from normally sighted control subjects. The control subjects' data were used to calculate age-dependent 95% confidence intervals for each measure of visual function. For the control subjects, performance on all our measures of visual function decreased with age. For the patients with early ARMD, the cone system absolute thresholds, EOG ratios, and cone-dominated ERG amplitudes and implicit times were within the range of normal age-related changes. Rod system absolute thresholds, cone-rod break times, and rod-dominated electroretinographic measures were abnormal in some patients. These results suggest that when the effects of aging are taken into account, some patients classified as early ARMD may not show significant changes in peripheral retinal function with standard clinical tests.