ABSTRACT
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the Western world (1). The severity of AMD increases with age. The highest prevalence of AMD is found in individuals over 75 years of age; 7.1% in this age group have late AMD (2-4). The Beaver Dam Eye Study, a population-based report, evaluated the incidence and progression of AMD and found the 5-year incidence of late AMD was 0.9%, with exudative AMD in at least one eye in 0.6% and pure geographic atrophy in 0.3% (4). The Chesapeake-Waterman study had previously reported a lower incidence of 0.2% (5). A total of 11.7% of patients with early AMD will develop late AMD over 5 years, with 7.1% developing an exudative component (4).
