Degeneração macular relacionada à idade: considerações histopatológicas

Abstract

Age related macular degeneration (ARMD) is a disease of old people with chronic evolution causing legal blindness. Clinically is classified as: atrophic or dry form and the wet form. Histopathologically the atrophic form is characterized by increased choriocapillaris wall thickness with partial or total lumen obliteration, retinal pigmented epithelium atrophy and hard drusen. In the wet form the most important feature is the neovascular proliferation in the retinal layer, hemorrhage, soft drusen and at ending stage disciform scar in the subretinal space. Angiogenic factors have been admitted in the etiology of ARMD and recently antiangiogenic drugs are used as treatment.