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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of aging on anteroposterior tortuosity of the retinal vein at the arteriovenous (AV) crossing in healthy subjects., Methods: We examined 48 eyes of 24 healthy older Japanese subjects (>60 years), and, as controls, 42 eyes of 21 healthy younger Japanese subjects (<30 years). Retinal vein images at the AV crossing were obtained by optical coherence tomography. The depth of the vein was measured vertically from the outer border of the retinal pigment epithelium to the outer vein wall. We defined "m" as the deepest point of the vein at the AV crossing and "M" as the shallowest point. To evaluate the anteroposterior tortuosity of the retinal vein, we calculated the ratio m/M., Results: Mean m, M, and m/M in older subjects were 76.5 ± 13.1 µm, 142.7 ± 21.2 µm, and 0.52 ± 0.09, respectively. In younger control subjects, the values were 64.1 ± 12.6 µm, 139.9 ± 22.4 µm, and 0.46 ± 0.06. The values of "M" were not significantly different between groups, whereas both "m/M" and "m" were significantly (p = 0.021) lower in the older subjects than in the younger subjects., Conclusion: Anteroposterior tortuosity of the retinal vein was evaluated based on the maximum and minimum retinal vein depth measurements at the AV crossing using optical coherence tomography. Anteroposterior tortuosity of the retinal vein at the AV crossing is increased with age.

Purpose: To evaluate systemic endothelial function in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO)., Methods: Twenty-seven patients with BRVO (BRVO group, 8 men, 19 women; mean age, 65.4 ± 1.3), 10 patients with systemic hypertension and no other systemic or ocular disease (hypertension group, 6 men, 4 women; mean age, 70.4 ± 2.2), and 10 healthy volunteers (healthy group, 3 men, 7 women; mean age, 63.8 ± 2.1) were enrolled. We excluded patients with diabetes mellitus and current smokers. Using high-resolution ultrasonographic imaging, we evaluated the brachial artery (mm) to evaluate the flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) by measuring the diameter of the brachial artery during reperfusion after arterial occlusion., Results: There were no significant differences among the three groups in age (p = 0.98), sex (p = 0.21), or the baseline diameter of the brachial artery (p = 0.11). The group-averaged FMD value decreased significantly in the BRVO group (4.6 ± 0.4%) compared to the hypertension group (8.0 ± 0.8%, p < 0.01) and the healthy group (6.9 ± 0.6%, p < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis identified lower FMD as an independent risk factor for BRVO., Conclusions: The results suggested that BRVO is associated with generalized endothelial dysfunction and that impaired systemic endothelial function may be associated with BRVO.

Objective: Retinal endothelial dysfunction is a key in the etiogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR), in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Brachial artery flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) is a marker of endothelial function associated with production of endogenous nitric oxide. Using FMD, we investigated the relationship between macrovascular function and DR., Methods: We studied 74 patients with type 2 DM, including non-DR (NDR) (n = 30); mild nonproliferative DR (NPDR) (n = 16); moderate NPDR (n = 10); severe NPDR (n = 10); and proliferative DR (PDR) (n = 8); and 21 age-matched controls. We measured FMD in each group. Retinal blood flow and pulsatility ratios were measured using laser Doppler velocimetry., Results: FMD decreased significantly in patients with DM compared with healthy control subjects. No significant differences were found in FMD among the NDR, mild NPDR, and moderate NPDR groups. FMD decreased significantly in the severe NPDR and PDR groups compared with the NDR group. FMD was significantly and negatively correlated with duration of DM and pulsatility ratio., Conclusion: Systemic endothelial dysfunction appears to be associated with DR and vascular abnormalities in patients with type 2 DM.