Geographic Atrophy Progression in Eyes with Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Role of Fundus Autofluorescence Patterns, Fellow Eye and Baseline Atrophy Area

Background/Objective: To evaluate if fundus autofluorescence (FAF) patterns around geographic atrophy (GA) and the status of the fellow eye have an impact on GA progression. Methods: We included 54 eyes of 35 patients with GA. Areas of GA were quantified by RegionFinder software. Results: GA progression rates in eyes with a diffuse trickling pattern (median 1.42 mm²/year) were significantly higher than in normal eyes (median 0.22 mm²/year) and eyes with other diffuse FAF patterns (median 0.46 mm²/year). Eyes with a banded pattern had a significantly higher progression rate (median 0.81 mm²/year) than those without any FAF abnormalities (p = 0.038). The group with baseline total atrophy of the eyes <1 disk area (DA; median 0.42 mm²) had an inverse relation with GA progression compared to the groups with baseline atrophy >1 DA (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Diffuse trickling and banded patterns may have an impact on GA progression and may serve as prognostic factors.