SCOPE

Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness among elderly in the industrialised world, affecting more than 35 million people globally. AMD presents as a progressive loss of vision in the centre of the visual field resulting in a blurred area or blank spot in the centre of vision. With ageing, AMD progresses to an advanced stage becoming increasingly difficult for patients to recognise faces, drive read and/or perform other activities of daily life. The overall UK prevalence of AMD is 2.4% with a sharp age related increase in occurrence of 4.8% of people over 65 and as many as 12.2% over 80 years of age. This is a natural history study in genetically defined patients with geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It is expected that approximately 350 patients with AMD will be recruited globally, across North America and Europe. This study consists of 6 visits over approximately 96 weeks, where they will undergo assessments and procedures to assess the natural progression of the disease.

Animation created to simulate onset of AMD. The example uses an Amsler Grid to demonstrate the visual symptoms.