Search

Purpose: To evaluate the retinal vasculature in patient with internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis and to highlight association between ICA stenosis severity and retinal vasculature changes., Methods: Seventy-five subjects were included in this prospective study. Twenty-five healthy subjects were included in the Group 1, 25 subjects with 1-49% ICA stenosis were included in the Group 2, and 25 subjects with 50-69% ICA stenosis were included in the Group 3. Visual acuity, intraocular pressure (IOP), and anterior and posterior segment examinations were performed. Macular superficial and deep capillary density, optic nerve head capillary density, and choroidal thickness data were measured using optic coherence tomography angiography., Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the three groups regarding superficial vascular density, deep vascular density, vascular density of radial peripapillary capillary and choroid thickness (p < 0.05 for all). Mean parafoveal and perifoveal area vascular density of the superficial capillary plexus was significantly lower in the Group 3 than Group 1 (p < 0.05 for all). Mean whole area vascular density of the deep capillary plexus was significantly lower in Group 3 than both groups (p < 0.05 for all). Mean parafoveal area vascular density of the deep capillary plexus was significantly lower in the Group 3 than Group 1 (p < 0.05). Mean subfoveal choroid thickness in group 3 was significantly lower in the Group 3 than both groups (p < 0.05 for all)., Conclusion: Compared to healthy controls, patients with moderate ICA stenosis revealed decreased density of superficial, deep and radial peripapillary capillary vasculature and subfoveal choroidal thickness., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Aim: The study aims to compare choroidal thickness, deep and superficial retinal capillary plexuses, and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) parameters in elite martial arts athletes and a healthy sedentary control group., Methods: The study included martial arts athletes (32 individuals, 64 eyes) and healthy sedentary persons (43 individuals with healthy sedentary lifestyles, 86 eyes) aged 18-35 years. In this single non-repeated observational and cross-sectional study, choroidal thickness, superficial and deep retinal capillary plexuses, and FAZ measurements were measured using Swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) and compared between groups., Results: No statistically significant differences were found (p > 0.05) in age, IOP, AL (axial length), and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) parameters between groups. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in choroidal thickness, superficial and deep retinal capillary plexuses, and FAZ parameters determined by the OCTA method (p > 0.05)., Conclusion: In our study, we observed that the retinal and choroidal structures of martial art athletes and healthy sedentary individuals were similar. This observation implies that the putative microvascular effects on the choroid and retina in martial arts, especially those based on the anaerobic energy system, may reflect similar outcomes to those observed in individuals with sedentary lifestyles characterized by healthiness., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest and are fully responsible for the content and writing of this article., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: This study aimed to assess alterations in retinal vascular density in cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) patients using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and investigate their association with MRI and cognitive features., Methods: Twenty-five patients with CADASIL and forty healthy controls were evaluated by Cirrus HD-OCT 5000 with AngioPlex OCTA to determine changes in macular retinal vasculature. Retinal vasculature parameters between two groups were compared. The MRI lesion burden and neuropsychological scales were also examined in patients. The association between OCTA parameters and MRI/cognitive features was evaluated using partial Spearman rank correlation., Results: The vessel density and perfusion density of whole image in macular region (vessel density: t =  - 2.834, p = 0.005; perfusion density: t =  - 2.691, p = 0.007) were significantly decreased in patients with CADASIL. Moreover, vessel density of whole image in macular region was negatively associated with Fazekas scores (ρ =  - 0.457; p = 0.025) and the number of lacunar infractions (ρ =  - 0.425, p = 0.038) after adjustment for age. Decreased macular vessel density and perfusion density of whole image were also associated with MoCA scores (vessel density: ρ = 0.542, p = 0.006; perfusion density: ρ = 0.478, p = 0.018) and other domain-specific neuropsychological tests (p < 0.05) after adjustment for age., Conclusion: Decreased retinal vascular density was associated with increased MRI lesion burden and cognitive impairment in patients with CADASIL. Our findings suggest that the degree of retinal vascular involvement, as demonstrated by OCTA, may be consistent with the severity of MRI lesions and the degree of cognitive impairment in patients., (© 2024. Fondazione Società Italiana di Neurologia.)

Aim: The present study explores the effects of Body Mass Index (BMI) on choroidal thickness, the deep and superficial retinal capillary plexuses, and the foveal avascular zone (FAZ)., Methods: The subjects in this prospective study were divided into five groups based on their calculated BMI. Choroidal thickness, superficial and deep retinal capillary plexuses, and FAZ were measured using enhance depth imaging (EDI) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). The groups were then compared and correlations with BMI were evaluated., Results: The study included 210 eyes of 105 subjects. The comparison of the BMI groups revealed a significant decrease in the mean choroidal thicknesses in the obese groups (p = 0.001), and a significant negative correlation between BMI and mean choroidal thickness (p = 0.02). The results of the analysis of the mean superficial and deep retinal capillary plexuses did not differ between the groups (p = 0.089, p = 0.808 respectively), while the deep FAZ measurements revealed a significant decrease in the obese groups (p = 0.003)., Conclusion: Choroidal thickness and deep FAZ are significantly negatively correlated with BMI, suggesting potential choroidal and retinal microvascular effects of obesity., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest, and are fully responsible for the content and writing of this article., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate possible vascular changes in pediatric patients infected with COVID-19 and to compare these with an age-matched control group., Methods: All patients underwent an ocular assessment and optical coherence tomography angiography examination. Two vascular networks were analyzed as the superficial and deep regions., Results: Evaluation was made of 40 eyes of 20 patients who had recently recovered from COVID infection and 80 eyes of 40 healthy individuals. The DCP-VD values of the COVID group were significantly lower than the control group in most quadrants. The FAZ PERIM and FAZ area values in the COVID patients were higher than the control group, but not statistically significant (p>.05)., Conclusion: Pediatric cases of COVID-19 may differ from adults based on structural and immune response differences, and that OCTA can be a noninvasive guide for analysis of the end-organ effects of pediatric COVID disease.

The influence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression and severity on the structural and functional integrity of the cerebral vasculature is well recognized. The retina is an extension of the brain; thus, changes in retinal vascular features may serve as markers of AD cerebrovascular pathologies. However, differentiating normal aging-versus AD-induced retinal vascular changes is unresolved. Therefore, we compared and quantified changes in superficial (SVP), intermediate (IVP), and deep (DVP) retinal vascular plexuses in young, middle-age, and old triple transgenic mouse model of AD (3xT-AD) to the changes that occur in age-matched controls (C57BL/6j). We used immunostaining combined with a novel tissue optical clearing approach along with a computational tool for quantitative analysis of vascular network alterations (vessel length and density) in SVP, IVP, and DVP. All three layers had comparable structural features and densities in young 3xTg-AD and control animals. In controls, IVP and DVP densities decreased with aging (-14% to -32% change from young to old, p < 0.05), while no changes were observed in SVP. In contrast, vascular parameters in the transgenic group decreased in all three layers with aging (-12% to -49% change from young to old, p < 0.05). Furthermore, in the old group, SVP and DVP vascular parameters were lower in the transgenics compared to age-matched controls (p < 0.05). Our analysis demonstrates that normal aging and progression of AD lead to various degrees of vascular alterations in the retina. Specifically, compared to normal aging, changes in vascular features of SVP and DVP regions of the retina are accelerated during AD progression. Considering recent advances in the field of depth-resolved imaging of retinal capillary network and microangiography, noninvasive quantitative monitoring of changes in retinal vascular network parameters of SVP and DVP may serve as markers for diagnosis and staging of Alzheimer's disease and discriminating AD-induced vascular attenuation from age-related vasculopathy., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objectives: To measure the density of retinal vessels from digitized fundus photographs in patients with recent stroke and age-matched controls. To investigate whether the parameter retinal vascular density (RVD) served as a quantitative marker for cerebrovascular events., Methods: Digitized fundus photographs of n = 158 subjects with stroke or transient ischemic attack within 1 year at the time of examination and n = 1,250 age-matched controls without any remarkable medical history were examined. Sex, hypertension, and diabetes were considered to be cofactors. Measurement of RVD was performed with a computer-aided image-analyzing program by segmenting automatically all visible retinal vessels and measuring areas of vessels in distinct circles around the optic disk., Results: In controls RVD dwindles with increasing distance from the optic disk. RVD decreased significantly with age (p = 0.000). Stroke patients showed significantly lower values of RVD of -15% in comparison to age-matched controls. In old subjects, stroke in combination with hypertension is associated with a significant decreased RVD, and in middle-aged subjects diabetes and stroke are associated with a significant decreased RVD (p = 0.01)., Conclusion: Age and stroke are significant risk factors for decreased RVD. Diabetes and arterial hypertension are additional significant risk factors in patients with stroke with respect to RVD., (© 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.)