Abstract
Background/aims Macular pigment is thought to protect the macula against exposure to light and oxidative stress, both of which may play a role in the development of age-related macular degeneration. The aim was to clinically evaluate a novel cathode-ray-tube-based method for measurement of macular pigment optical density (MPOD) known as apparent motion photometry (AMP).
Methods The authors took repeat readings of MPOD centrally (0°) and at 3° eccentricity for 76 healthy subjects (mean (±SD) 26.5±13.2 years, range 18–74 years).
Results The overall mean MPOD for the cohort was 0.50±0.24 at 0°, and 0.28±0.20 at 3° eccentricity; these values were significantly different (t=-8.905, p<0.001). The coefficients of repeatability were 0.60 and 0.48 for the 0 and 3° measurements respectively.
Conclusions The data suggest that when the same operator is taking repeated 0° AMP MPOD readings over time, only changes of more than 0.60 units can be classed as clinically significant. In other words, AMP is not suitable for monitoring changes in MPOD over time, as increases of this magnitude would not be expected, even in response to dietary modification or nutritional supplementation.
Methods The authors took repeat readings of MPOD centrally (0°) and at 3° eccentricity for 76 healthy subjects (mean (±SD) 26.5±13.2 years, range 18–74 years).
Results The overall mean MPOD for the cohort was 0.50±0.24 at 0°, and 0.28±0.20 at 3° eccentricity; these values were significantly different (t=-8.905, p<0.001). The coefficients of repeatability were 0.60 and 0.48 for the 0 and 3° measurements respectively.
Conclusions The data suggest that when the same operator is taking repeated 0° AMP MPOD readings over time, only changes of more than 0.60 units can be classed as clinically significant. In other words, AMP is not suitable for monitoring changes in MPOD over time, as increases of this magnitude would not be expected, even in response to dietary modification or nutritional supplementation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 662-665 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | British Journal of Ophthalmology |
| Volume | 95 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 30 Aug 2010 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 2011 |
Bibliographical note
This article has been accepted for publication in the British journal of ophthalmology. The definitive copyedited, typeset version Bartlett, H & Eperjesi, F 2011, 'Apparent motion photometry: evaluation and reliability of a novel method for the measurement of macular pigment', British journal of ophthalmology, vol 95, no. 5, pp. 662-665 is available online at http://bjo.bmj.com/content/95/5/662Keywords
- adolescent
- adult
- aged
- densitometry
- female
- humans
- macula lutea
- male
- middle aged
- movement
- reproducibility of results
- retinal pigments
- young adult