Shen LL, Sun M, Ahluwalia A, et al. - Since the macular central 1 mm diameter zone is critical for the visual acuity of patients, however, the long-term natural history of central sparing in eyes with geographic atrophy (GA) is unclear, researchers in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study manually segmented GA in 210 eyes with GA involving central 1 mm diameter zone (mean follow-up = 3.8 years). The decline rate of the central residual area was correlated with the baseline residual area, but this association was eliminated by a transformation from the central residual area to CRER. CRER declined linearly over about 13 years in eyes with GA and can serve as an anatomic endpoint in future clinical studies aimed at preserving the central zone.