Macular changes due to age include degenerative changes in the retinal pigment epithelium, such as drusen and subretinal neovascularization. Drusen are hyaline nodules or colloid bodies that form the yellow subretinal deposits seen on the slide. In the Beaver Dam Eye Study, soft drusen were present in 6% of persons between 43 and 54 years of age and in 37% of those over 75 years of age. Although visual acuity may be initially normal with drusen, these lesions can lead to significant visual loss if the central macular becomes involved.