Retinal vascular density in multiple sclerosis: a 1‐year follow‐up.

Background and purpose: Vascular pathology is increasingly acknowledged as a risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS). Vascular density (VD) is reduced in the eyes of patients with MS on optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography. We performed a 1‐year prospective study to estimate VD variations over time and possible clinical correlates. Methods: A total of 50 patients with MS underwent spectral domain‐OCT and OCT angiography at baseline and after 1‐year follow‐up. Mixed‐effect linear regression models were used to assess variations of each OCT measure and its relation to treatment and clinical outcomes. Results: We observed an increase in parafovea VD (coefficient, 1.147; 95% confidence interval, 0.081–2.214; P = 0.035). Reduction in parafovea VD was associated with increase in Expanded Disability Status Scale score (coefficient, −0.969; 95% confidence interval, −1.732/−0.207; P = 0.013). Conclusions: Retinal VD can improve over time in MS, particularly in patients experiencing disease stability. Longer follow‐up, inclusion of early MS cases and combination with conventional markers of MS severity (i.e. brain atrophy) are needed to better define VD as a potential new biomarker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]