Incidence and prevalence of late-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in elderly Chinese in Taiwan were shown to be similar to other geographic studies, but smoking was not a significant risk factor for progression, Dr Shih-Jen Chen said during the 2009 joint meeting of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Academy of...

A study of Japanese patients over age 50 years diagnosed with serous macular detachment finds that the most common cause of this condition is polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). PCV is a distinct clinical entity that is characterized by polypoidal vasculature with interconnecting choroidal vessels. Because the PCV vascular lesions progress...

This is the third paper (so far) published this month reporting positive 12-month results on the use of Avastin to treat of myopic macular degeneration. Eight eyes of eight consecutive Chinese patients aged 26 to 62 years (mean 41.5 years) with myopic choroidal neovascularization (CNV) without earlier treatment were treated with intravitreal...

A large prospective multi-ethnic study failed to find a strong association between systemic inflammatory disease, use of antiinflammatory agents, biomarkers of inflammatory disease, and related processes with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Inflammation has been hypothesized to have a role in the pathogenesis of AMD. Inflammatory cells...

A large study of Malay adults living is Singapore finds that early AMD is more common among people with lower educational level. The Singapore Malay Eye Study is a population-based cross-sectional study of 3280 Malay adults aged 40–80 years residing in Singapore. AMD was graded from retinal photographs.Socio-economic status including...

A new study reports that age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is not associated with an increased death rate. The Beijing Eye Study is a population-based investigation of 4378 adult Chinese. They undertook an investigation to assess the association between AMD and mortality in a population-based setting. At baseline in 2001, 4,378...

A new study has found that the prevalence of late AMD is similar in Caucasian and Asian populations. When AMD risk levels among racial and ethnic groups are compared, Caucasians are usually identified as at highest risk. Asians in particular have been assumed to have lower risk. A new study published in the August 2008 edition if the...

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the Asian population requires different diagnostic tools and treatments than those used in Caucasians, likely because the disease develops on different genetic levels in the two ethnicities, a presenter said here. "AMD in Asians may have different phenotypic or genotypic patterns," Wai-Man Chan, FRCS,...

A new report from the Salisbury Eye Evaluation (SEE) Project finds that whites are significantly more likely than blacks to develop large drusen and focal pigment abnormalities than blacks and that smoking is a strong, dose-dependent risk factor for the progression of macular degeneration. Salisbury Eye Evaluation is a large population-based...