A Clinical Analysis of Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Qinghai Plateau

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of irreversible vision loss in the elder population of European and American countries. Clinically, AMD has two types: dry AMD (atrophic)and wet AMD (Neovascular or exudative). 80-90% of individuals with AMD are dryAMD. It is characterized by drusen formation on the retina and geographic atrophy in local retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). 

Although wet AMD affects approximately 10-15% of individuals with AMD, it is the direct and major cause of severe vision loss from the disease due to retinal choroid neovascularization (CNV), macular hemorrhage or leakage of fluid into the RPE and subretinal spaces. AMD is a highly complex and multifactorial disease withdemographic, environmental, and genetic risk factors including aging, smoking,diet and race. Thus, the pathogenesis for AMD has yet to be completely understood. In China, AMD has become the third major cause of blindness. A few studies showed a high rate of wet AMD for peoples who lived in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. However, whether high plateau is a risk factor remains undetermined.