Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32389889›Full record

ArticleOphthalmology. Retina2020

Hyperreflective Foci and Specks Are Associated with Delayed Rod-Mediated Dark Adaptation in Nonneovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Benjamin S Echols, Mark E Clark, Thomas A Swain, Ling Chen, Deepayan Kar, Yuhua Zhang, Kenneth R Sloan, Gerald McGwin, Ramya Singireddy, Christian Mays and 4 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Ophthalmology. Retina, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
49citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.2field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

49 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.

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  16. High risk does not guarantee high accuracy-Evaluating the prognostic accuracy of OCT biomarkers for predicting late AMD.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Benjamin S EcholsDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Mark E ClarkDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Thomas A SwainDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Ling ChenDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Deepayan KarVision Science Training Program, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Yuhua ZhangDoheny Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
Kenneth R SloanDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Gerald McGwinDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Ramya SingireddyDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Christian MaysDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
David KilpatrickRetina Consultants of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama.
Jason N CrossonDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; Retina Consultants of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama.
Cynthia OwsleyDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Christine A CurcioDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama. Electronic address: christinecurcio@uabmc.edu.
University of Alabama at Birmingham · USRetina Consultants of Texas · USUniversity of California, Los Angeles · US

Funding

Functionally Validated Structural Endpoints for Early AMDR01EY029595 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI CURCIO, CHRISTINE A, OWSLEY, CYNTHIA · 2019 to 2023
$4.1M
A hyperspectral approach to RPE fluorophores in AMDR01EY027948 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI ACH, THOMAS, CURCIO, CHRISTINE A · 2017 to 2025
$3.8M
VISUAL DYSFUNCTION AND AGING--UNDERLYING MECHANISMSR01AG004212 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI OWSLEY, CYNTHIA · 1985 to 2012
$3.7M
QUANTITATIVE ANAYLSIS OF AGING RETINAR01EY006109 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI CURCIO, CHRISTINE A · 1986 to 2012
$3.5M
Hypertension, angiotensin receptor blockers, and cognition: effects and mechanismR01AG042127 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI HAJJAR, IHAB M · 2012 to 2017
$3.0M
In vivo Ultrastructure of Chorioretinal DiseaseR01EY024378 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI ZHANG, YUHUA LIANG · 2015 to 2023
$2.9M
UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS)TL1TR001418 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI SAAG, KENNETH G · 2015 to 2018
$2.1M
NCATS NIH HHS TL1 TR001418NEI NIH HHS R01 EY006109NEI NIH HHS R01 EY024378NEI NIH HHS R01 EY027948NEI NIH HHS R01 EY029595NIA NIH HHS R01 AG004212NIA NIH HHS R01 AG042127
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeHyperreflective foci (HRF) are OCT biomarkers for the progression of nonneovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) attributed to anteriorly migrated retinal pigment epithelial cells. We examined associations between rod- and cone-mediated vision and HRF plus smaller hyperreflective specks (HRS); we identified a histologic candidate for HRS.

designCross-sectional study and histologic survey.

participantsPatients with healthy maculae (n = 34), early AMD (n = 26), and intermediate AMD (n = 41).

methodsAMD severity was determined by color fundus photography. In OCT scans, HRF and HRS were counted manually. Vision tests probed cones (best-corrected visual acuity [VA], contrast sensitivity), mixed cones and rods (low-luminance VA, low-luminance deficit, mesopic light sensitivity), or rods (scotopic light sensitivity, rod-mediated dark adaptation [RMDA]). An online AMD histopathologic resource was reviewed.

main outcome measuresVision in eyes assessed for HRF and HRS; histologic candidate for HRS.

resultsIn 101 eyes of 101 patients, HRF and HRS were identified in 25 and 95 eyes, respectively, with good reliability. Hyperreflective foci were present but sparse in healthy eyes, infrequent in early AMD eyes, and frequent but highly variable among intermediate AMD eyes (mean±standard deviation [SD] number per eye, 0.1 ± 0.2, 0.2 ± 0.5, and 1.9 ± 3.4 for healthy, early AMD, and intermediate AMD eyes, respectively). Hyperreflective specks outnumbered HRF in all groups (mean±SD, 4.5 ± 3.2, 6.3 ± 5.8, and 19.4 ± 22.4, respectively). Delayed RMDA was associated strongly with more HRF and HRS (P < 0.0001). Hyperreflective foci also were associated with worse low-luminance VA (P = 0.0117). Hyperreflective specks were associated with worse contrast sensitivity (P = 0.0278), low-luminance VA (P = 0.0010), low-luminance deficit (P = 0.0031), and mesopic (P = 0.0018) and scotopic (P < 0.0001) sensitivity. By histologic analysis, cone lipofuscin was found in outer retinal layers of 25% of healthy aged eyes.

conclusionsHyperreflective foci and HRS are markers of cellular activity associated with visual dysfunction, especially delayed RMDA, an AMD risk indicator assessing efficiency of retinoid resupply. Hyperreflective specks may represent lipofuscin translocating inwardly within cones. HRF and HRS may serve as structural end points in clinical trials targeting AMD stages earlier than atrophy expansion. These results should be confirmed in a larger sample.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overCross-Sectional StudiesDark AdaptationDisease ProgressionFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisRetinal Pigment EpitheliumRetinal Rod Photoreceptor CellsTomography, Optical CoherenceWet Macular Degeneration

Identifiers

PMID32389889
PMCPMC8709925
OpenAlexW3022251751

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.