Purpose. Recent studies strongly suggest that drusen, the extracellular deposits associated
with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), are a manifestation of local inflammatory
events. New evidence indicates that substructural elements within drusen contain activated
complement components as well as amyloid β (Aβ), a major pro-inflammatory component of
Alzheimer's disease plaques. We characterized the ultrastructural organization and
histochemical staining properties of these Aβ-containing elements in order to further assess …