SPATIAL EXTENT OF RETINAL DAMAGE

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DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the applicant's abstract): The proposed research will investigate the effects of aging, age-related maculopathy and macular degeneration (ARM/AMD) and atherosclerotic disease on cones, rods and the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells and beneath the photoreceptors. The strategy is to compare structure to function employing a variety of methods, including confocal laser imaging of the fundus with red and infrared light to identify and describe structural changes from normal, aged and diseased eyes, using reflectometry to measure photoreceptor optics, densitometry to determine pigment density, and psychophysical measures of retinal function. The cardiovascular study will measure photoreceptor function before and after rehabilitation to determine what function is improved and reflected in blood studies. Plans also are included to investigate the effects of cardiovascular disease and glaucoma on photoreceptor/RPE layers of patients with ARM/AMD. These studies should provide tests for risk factors and noninvasive early detection, as well as possibly providing a better classification scheme and more accurate prognostic tests for patients with ARM/AMD.