The development of an experimental model of subretinal neovascularization in disciform macular degeneration.

A reproducible model of subretinal neovascularization has been developed, an important first step in the study of disciform macular degeneration. The methodology and clinical description of subretinal neovascularization in the primate have been provided and histopathologic and electron microscopic correlations included. This model provides a most promising and useful mechanism for the evaluation of the many different factors and hypotheses that have been proposed for the genesis of the disciform response. In humans, it probably has more relevance to the traumatically induced disciform process, particularly that after laser therapy, than to the senile degenerative process. The purpose of this investigation is to develop the animal model by which many different theories regarding the pathogenesis of the disciform response can be tested. These initial studies relate to ischemia, hemorrhage, the inflammatory response, and position in relation to the center of the vascular-free zone as factors important in the development and evolution of subretinal neovascularization.