Figure 1. Correlation of melanization and metabolic load in the retina with the formation of lipofuscin

The metabolic load (ratio of photoreceptors to RPE cells) is lower at the fovea than at the macula. Increased melanization at the fovea (negatively correlated to the rate of phagocytosis) may also contribute toward decreasing the metabolic load at the fovea. Together, these effects may account in part toward the fovea sparing in AMD.