Ocular perfusion and age-related macular degeneration

Purpose: To review the role of ocular perfusion in the pathophysiology of a ge-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of irreversible bl indness in the industrialized world, Methods: Medline search of the literature published in English or with Engl ish abstracts from 1966 to 2000 was performed using various combinations of relevant key words, Results: Vascular defects have been identified in both nonexudative and exu dative AMD patients using fluorescein angiographic methods, laser Doppler f lowmetry, indocyanine green angiography, and color Doppler imaging. Conclusion: Although these studies lend some support to the vascular pathog enesis of AMD, it is not possible to determine if the choroidal perfusion a bnormalities play a causative role in nonexudative AMD, if they are simply an association with another primary alteration, such as a primary RPE defec t or a genetic defect at the photoreceptor level, or if they are more stron gly associated with one particular form of this heterogeneous disease, Furt her study is warranted.