Tools to Optimize Patient Presentation After Onset of Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

Exudative age-related macular degeneration ("wet" AMD) continues to be a leading cause of central vision loss in the US for those over fifty years of age, despite the availability of several effective interventions to contain damaging neovascularization (new, abnormal blood vessel growth). The effectiveness of treatments is challenged by patients' lack of ability to recognize the need for urgent care between regular office visits. The Amsler and Yanuzzi tests, the only widely used self-tests for AMD, have proven largely ineffective at enabling patients to recognize the signs that they should consult their retina specialist for treatment.

For optimal benefit, patients should be able to self-monitor their vision over time and detect changes that may be indicative of an exudative event. To facilitate compliance these observations should be part of a larger and more engaging program of AMD awareness and self-monitoring. Among the principal shortcomings of the current "gold-standard" Amsler grid are periodicity of the test pattern and lack of individual adjustment, and therefore the reliability and accuracy of this test are less than optimal for the detection of exudative retinal changes in AMD patients. In phase I of the current study, the investigatorsW developed and evaluated several versions of improved grids, both on paper and on the Internet. These patent-pending Visual and Memory Stimulating (VMS) grids proved at least equivalent to the Amsler grid in facilitating a substantial degree of recall of prior measurements, necessary for monitoring vision over time. Adjustment features were incorporated in the on-line version to allow patients to customize their grid to their particular visual field. In the phase II study the use of VMS grids will be supplemented by a test booklet that contains educational materials and diary based survey questions in addition to the printed VMS grids; the effectiveness of this booklet for self-monitoring will be compared the standard of care (Amsler grid).

Goal of the study is to demonstrate that use of the test booklet leads to more rapid identification of newly developing vision problems, earlier diagnosis and treatment of incipient wet AMD that should result in fewer people losing their vision and less severe losses of vision.