Outcome Measures for Macular Disease

By: Siti Nurfaizura Hasnan
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Late age-related maculopathy (ARM) is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment in adults over the age of 50 years in the Western world. Age-related maculopathy (ARM) can be considered as a transition from normal retinal changes to pathological processes. It exerts a devastating impact on a person's life, limiting their independence, and hence becoming a major public health concern. Knowing this fact, scientists and clinical researchers all over the world are making constant efforts to look for more effective treatment. Unfortunately, the current treatment options are limited; most aim to slow progression rather than to restore vision. Therefore, it is important to recognize patients who have progressed beyond a normal state in order to initiate the appropriate clinical management. This is made easier in this era of technology, with the invention of several clinical tests, each focusing on different aspects of vision. The outcome measures for each test can help clinicians to differentially diagnose ARM from other diseases which show similar symptoms and signs as those of ARM. This project focuses mainly on a review of the relevant literature. It encompasses an investigation into visual function by using several techniques to set visual parameters that may be of predictive value for disease progression. In this project, particular attention has been paid to outcome measurements from electrophysiological testing, imaging techniques and the fundus perimetry for ARM.

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