Definition
The leading cause of irreversible blindness in those over the age of 50 in the developed world, macular degeneration, is a progressive disease characterized by degeneration of the macula. The presence of drusen, generally pale or yellowish lesions found between the retinal pigment epithelium and Bruch’s membrane in the eye, is thought to be the first sign of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (Khandhadia et al. 2012). Excess drusen can lead to damage of the retinal pigment epithelium which has several functions including cytokine secretion and nutrient transport. Early, intermediate, and advanced AMD are all classified, using a system created by the Age-Related Eye Disease Study, by the size of the drusen present/not present in the eye. Smaller and fewer drusen are more associated with early AMD and less visual impairment, whereas larger and more prevalent drusen are associated with advanced AMD and generally much more visual impairment. Advanced AMD is classified as...
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Lysne, P., Cruz-Almeida, Y. (2018). Macular Degeneration. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_9102
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_9102
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