Morphometric state of the macular zone in atrophic form of myopic maculopathy

    Purpose. Clinical assessment of morphometric parameters of the macular zone in patients with atrophic myopic maculopathy, their relationship with age and size of the anteroposterior axis (APA) of the eyes.

    Material and methods. The main group consisted of 143 patients (286 eyes) with acquired axial myopia with complications in the posterior pole of the eye. It identifies 3 subgroups according to the severity of myopic macular changes. The comparison group included 34 patients (68 eyes) with acquired uncomplicated axial myopia. Control group – 13 people (26 eyes) with emmetropic refraction without eye pathology. All patients underwent optical coherence tomography of the macula. The thickness of the neuroepithelium of the macular zone, the volume of the neuroepithelium of the macula, the thickness of the layer of ganglion cells, the thickness of the choroid in the center of the fovea were studied.

    Results. Statistical analysis made it possible to identify characteristic changes in the macular retina and choroid with an increase in the size of the posterior eye and the age of patients. Changes in the macula characteristic of the beginning of the formation of myopic maculopathy were revealed, such as a decrease in the index of the ganglion cell layer in the upper and lower temporal sector of the macular map from 76 µm or less; a decrease in the average thickness of the ganglion cell layer from 76.5 µm or less.

    Conclusion. With increasing age of patients, a decrease in the thickness of the choroid occurs. The progression of the severity of atrophic myopic maculopathy is accompanied by a smoothing of the profile of the macular retina, a decrease in the thickness of the layer of ganglion cells in the temporal regions. These data may allow the development of methods for predicting the development of atrophic myopic maculopathy.

    Keywords: atrophic myopic maculopathy, acquired axial myopia, optical coherence tomography.