Hyperreflective Foci Along the Retinal Pigment Epithelium Predict the Onset of Large Choroidal Hypertransmission Defects in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

IF 4.1 1区医学 Q1 OPHTHALMOLOGY

American Journal of Ophthalmology Pub Date : 2025-02-21 DOI:10.1016/j.ajo.2025.02.021

Alessandro Berni , James D. Kastner , Mengxi Shen , Yuxuan Cheng , Gissel Herrera , Farhan Hiya , Jeremy Liu , Liang Wang , Jianqing Li , Omar S. El-Mulki , Sara Beqiri , Omer Trivizki , Nadia K. Waheed , Robert O'Brien , Giovanni Gregori , Ruikang K. Wang , Philip J. Rosenfeld

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose

In eyes with intermediate age-related macular degeneration (iAMD), we separately quantified the hyperreflective foci (HRF) along the retinal pigment epithelium (rpeHRF) and the intraretinal HRF (iHRF) to determine if the location of the HRF predicted the progression from iAMD to the onset of large persistent choroidal hypertransmission defects (hyperTDs).

Design

Post hoc subgroup cohort analysis of a prospective study.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was performed on a prospective natural history database of eyes with AMD imaged using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). En face images derived from choroidal slabs positioned 64 to 400 µm beneath Bruch membrane were used with a semiautomated algorithm to identify and quantify hypotransmission defects (hypoTDs) attributable to either iHRF or rpeHRF within a 5-mm fovea-centered circle. iHRF were identified on corresponding B-scans as hyperreflective lesions within the neurosensory retina, and rpeHRF were identified as areas of retinal pigment epithelium thickening. Multivariable survival analysis was performed to determine if the area measurements of either iHRF or rpeHRF were more likely to predict the onset of the first large persistent hyperTD.

Results

Of the 171 eyes with iAMD included in this study, 82 (48%) developed at least 1 large hyperTD during a median follow-up of 59.1 months. Univariable Cox regression analyses showed that rpeHRF area (P < .001), iHRF area (P = .003), and drusen volume (P < .001) were all significantly associated with the onset of the first large persistent hyperTD. However, a multivariable Cox regression model showed that only the rpeHRF area remained a significant predictor of disease progression (P < .001).

Conclusions

In iAMD eyes, the area of rpeHRF was more predictive of disease progression than either the drusen volume or iHRF, which suggests that these rpeHRF serve as harbingers of focal atrophy formation and may predict where hyperTDs form.

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来源期刊

American Journal of Ophthalmology 医学-眼科学

CiteScore

9.20

自引率

7.10%

发文量

406

审稿时长

36 days

期刊介绍： The American Journal of Ophthalmology is a peer-reviewed, scientific publication that welcomes the submission of original, previously unpublished manuscripts directed to ophthalmologists and visual science specialists describing clinical investigations, clinical observations, and clinically relevant laboratory investigations. Published monthly since 1884, the full text of the American Journal of Ophthalmology and supplementary material are also presented online at www.AJO.com and on ScienceDirect. The American Journal of Ophthalmology publishes Full-Length Articles, Perspectives, Editorials, Correspondences, Books Reports and Announcements. Brief Reports and Case Reports are no longer published. We recommend submitting Brief Reports and Case Reports to our companion publication, the American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports. Manuscripts are accepted with the understanding that they have not been and will not be published elsewhere substantially in any format, and that there are no ethical problems with the content or data collection. Authors may be requested to produce the data upon which the manuscript is based and to answer expeditiously any questions about the manuscript or its authors.