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Drusen, from the German word for node or geode (singular, "Druse"), are tiny yellow or white accumulations of extracellular material that build up between Bruch's membrane and the retinal pigment epithelium of the eye. The presence of a few small ("hard") drusen is normal with advancing age, and most people over 40 have some hard drusen. [1]
In children, optic disc drusen are usually buried and undetectable by fundoscopy except for a mild or moderate elevation of the optic disc. With age, the overlying axons become atrophied and the drusen become exposed and more visible. They may become apparent with an ophthalmoscope and some visual field loss at the end of adolescence. [7]
Choroidal nevus with drusen can be considered as a sign of chronicity since drusen take years to develop and appear. [14] Drusen are composed of lipids and can actually be an indicator that a tumour is a benign nevus as opposed to a cancerous melanoma. [15] In nevi imaged by OCT, about 41% are found to have drusen. [16]
If normal retinal reception and image transmission are sometimes possible in a retina when high concentrations of drusen are present, then, even if drusen can be implicated in the loss of visual function, there must be at least one other factor that accounts for the loss of vision.
Simultaneous stereo fundus photos have been published prior to 1909 however their use as a diagnostic tool is not widespread. [16] Recent advances in digital photography and 3D monitors has seen some manufacturers incorporating it once again into photographic equipment.
Diabetic retinopathy (also known as diabetic eye disease) is a medical condition in which damage occurs to the retina due to diabetes.It is a leading cause of blindness in developed countries and one of the lead causes of sight loss in the world, even though there are many new therapies and improved treatments for helping people live with diabetes.
If caught early, the neovascularization can be reversed with prompt panretinal photocoagulation (PRP), or injection of anti-VEGF medications with subsequent PRP. The injection blocks the direct effect of VEGF and acts more quickly but will wear off in about six weeks. [4] PRP has a slower onset of action but can last permanently.
Strongly modulated blood flow pulse in central and branch arteries can result from hypertension. Microangiography by laser Doppler imaging [3] may reveal altered hemodynamics non-invasively. Mild signs of hypertensive retinopathy can be seen quite frequently in normal people (3–14% of adult individuals aged ≥40 years), even without ...