Ultrasonic findings in the vitreous body at various ages

Abstract

A total of 444 healthy eyes in 290 subjects of varying age were examined ultrasonically with a frequency of 6 MHz. In subjects under 20 years the structure of the vitreous body was acoustically homogeneous, and in those between 21 and 40 there was slight degeneration in 5% of the eyes. In the age group 41-50 the incidence of degeneration was 19%, in the group 51-60 63% and in that over 60 more than 80%. There was a clear increase in acoustically observable degeneration after the 40th year; nevertheless, in about 10% of those over 60 years an acoustically homogeneous vitreous body was observed. Ultrasonic observation can be used to supplement optical observations, and in the case of elderly patients is often the only way of obtaining information on the structure of the vitreous body.

To See the Invisible: The Quest of Imaging Vitreous

“…The findings of his extensive study of aging changes were summarized in 1978 [45]. In that report of 444 'normal' subjects, Oksala defined the presence of acoustic interfaces within the vitreous body as evidence of vitreous aging and determined that the incidence of such interfaces was 5% between the ages of 21-40 years, and fully 80% in individuals over 60 years of age.…”

Avaliação ultra-sonográfica do segmento posterior de olhos de cães diabéticos e não diabéticos portadores de catarata

“…Até o fim da década de 60, era esperado que o corpo ví-treo do olho saudável fosse ultra-sonograficamente homogê-neo. No início da década de 70, vários estudos ultrasonográficos em seres humanos demonstraram que o vítreo sofre evidente degeneração de acordo com o aumento da idade (Rossi & Gallenga 1971, Oksala 1975, 1978. No estudo atual, não se observou diferença estatisticamente significante entre idade e degeneração vítrea em nenhum dos grupos, porém é evidente a menor porcentagem desta alteração em animais com menos de 4 anos de idade.…”

Imaging vitreous

“…Oksala, among the first to employ B-scan ultrasonography to image vitreous in the late 1950s and early 1960s, summarized his findings of aging changes in 1978. 20 In that report of 444 'normal' subjects, Oksala defined the presence of acoustic interfaces within the vitreous body as evidence of vitreous aging and determined that the incidence of such interfaces was 5% between the ages of 21-40 years, and fully 80% of individuals over 60 years of age. In clinical practice, however, only profound entities such as asteroid hyalosis, vitreous hemorrhage, and intravitreal foreign bodies (if sufficiently large) are imaged by ultrasonography.…”