Clinical characteristics and LONG-TERM progression analysis of reticular pseudodrusen cases

Purpose: To investigate the clinical features and long-term natural course of reticular pseudodrusen cases, and to analyze the factors that may affect the progression to late age-related macular degeneration. Materials and Methods: Medical records of patients with reticular pseudodrusen and their optical coherence tomography and infrared reflectance images were evaluated retrospectively. Demographic characteristics of the cases, reticular pseudodrusen localization, accompanying age-related macular degeneration findings and subfoveal choroidal thickness were recorded. The progression of age-related macular degeneration was investigated in eyes with a follow-up of more than 24 months. Results: A total of 79 eyes of 54 patients were included in the study. The most common location of reticular pseudodrusen was the superior quadrant (76 eyes, 96.2%). The cases were most frequently accompanied by intermediate age-related macular degeneration (41 eyes, 51.9%) findings. Progression to late age-related macular degeneration was detected in 16 (42.1%) of 38 eyes followed for more than 24 months. There were no significant differences between the cases with and without progression in terms of gender, age, localization of lesions and mean subfoveal choroidal thickness. In the presence of accompanying early or intermediate age-related macular degeneration, and choroidal neovascularization in the fellow eye, the increase in the risk of developing late age-related macular degeneration was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Cases with reticular pseudodruzen should be followed regularly for progression of age-related macular degeneration. Larger, prospective studies will help us better understand the clinical significance of reticular pseudodrusen, its impact on the progression of age-related macular degeneration, and its associated risk factors. Keywords: Age-related macular degeneration, choroidal neovascularization, geographic atrophy, reticular pseudodrusen, subretinal drusenoid deposit