Olsen Timothy W
Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Trans Am Ophthalmol Soc. 2008;106:383-401.
To establish a grading system of eye bank eyes using fundus autofluorescence (FAF) and identify a methodology that correlates FAF to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with clinical correlation to the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS).
Two hundred sixty-two eye bank eyes were evaluated using a standardized analysis of FAF. Measurements were taken with the confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope (cSLO). First, high-resolution, digital, stereoscopic, color images were obtained and graded according to AREDS criteria. With the neurosensory retina removed, mean FAF values were obtained from cSLO images using software analysis that excludes areas of atrophy and other artifact, generating an FAF value from a grading template. Age and AMD grade were compared to FAF values. An internal fluorescence reference standard was tested.
Standardization of the cSLO machine demonstrated that reliable data could be acquired after a 1-hour warm-up. Images obtained prior to 1 hour had falsely elevated levels of FAF. In this initial analysis, there was no statistical correlation of age to mean FAF. There was a statistically significant decrease in FAF from AREDS grade 1, 2 to 3, 4 (P < .0001). An internal fluorescent standard may serve as a quantitative reference.
The Minnesota Grading System (MGS) of FAF (MGS-FAF) establishes a standardized methodology for grading eye bank tissue to quantify FAF compounds in the retinal pigment epithelium and correlate these findings to the AREDS. Future studies could then correlate specific FAF to the aging process, histopathology AMD phenotypes, and other maculopathies, as well as to analyze the biochemistry of autofluorescent fluorophores.
利用眼底自发荧光（FAF）建立眼库眼分级系统，并确定一种将FAF与年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）相关联的方法，且使其与年龄相关性眼病研究（AREDS）具有临床相关性。
采用标准化的FAF分析方法对262只眼库眼进行评估。使用共焦扫描激光检眼镜（cSLO）进行测量。首先，获取高分辨率、数字、立体彩色图像，并根据AREDS标准进行分级。去除神经感觉视网膜后，使用软件分析从cSLO图像中获取平均FAF值，该软件分析排除了萎缩区域和其他伪像，从分级模板生成FAF值。将年龄和AMD分级与FAF值进行比较。测试了一种内部荧光参考标准。
cSLO机器的标准化表明，经过1小时预热后可获得可靠数据。1小时前获得的图像FAF水平存在假性升高。在本次初步分析中，年龄与平均FAF之间无统计学相关性。从AREDS 1级、2级到3级、4级，FAF有统计学显著下降（P <.0001）。一种内部荧光标准可作为定量参考。
FAF的明尼苏达分级系统（MGS）（MGS-FAF）建立了一种标准化方法，用于对眼库组织进行分级，以量化视网膜色素上皮中的FAF化合物，并将这些结果与AREDS相关联。未来的研究可以将特定的FAF与衰老过程、组织病理学AMD表型和其他黄斑病变相关联，以及分析自发荧光团的生物化学。
