Adult vitelliform macular degeneration: a clinical spectrum.

Adult vitelliform macular degeneration (adult Best's disease) has a spectrum of clinical appearances which may include focal macular pigment clumps as well as the more typical small, yellow lesions. We surveyed 81 patients with this diagnosis retrospectively. Ages ranged from 36 to 87 years, with an average age of 67 years. Males and females were almost equally represented. Median visual acuity at presentation was 6/12 for eyes with yellow lesions, and 6/9 for eyes with pigment clumps. Of 17 cases followed for an average of 3.6 years, there was a decrease in visual acuity of two lines or more in five cases. A significant proportion of patients also had other manifestations of age-related macular degeneration. Adult vitelliform macular degeneration probably falls within the spectrum of age-related macular degeneration.