In:
Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 260, No. 7 ( 2022-07), p. 2321-2328
Abstract:
To investigate the vessel density (VD) of the radial peripapillary capillary (RPC) plexus in patients affected by preperimetric glaucoma (PPG), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and in a healthy control group using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in order to clarify the pathogenetic mechanisms of these neurodegenerative diseases. Methods In this prospective study, we studied 54 eyes of 54 patients with PPG, 54 eyes of 54 patients with aMCI and 54 healthy controls. All subjects underwent structural spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD)-OCT to assess the ganglion cell complex (GCC) and the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL). OCTA was used to evaluate the VD of the RPC in different regions (whole image, inside disc and peripapillary). Results The PPG and aMCI groups showed a statistically significant reduction in SD-OCT and parameters with respect to controls ( p 〈 0.001). No statistically significant difference was found in GCC and RNFL parameters between the two study groups ( p 〉 0.05). At OCTA examination, PPG and aMCI patients exhibited a statistically significant reduction in the VD of the RPC in whole image, inside and peripapillary regions compared to healthy controls ( p 〈 0.001). When comparing the two study groups, the OCTA parameters were significantly impaired in PPG with respect to aMCI patients. Significant correlations were found between structural OCT and OCTA parameters in PPG and aMCI groups ( p 〈 0.05). Conclusions RPC vessel density could represent a helpful and sensible biomarker to identify early retinal microvascular changes in PPG and MCI in order to better understand the vascular pathophysiological mechanisms involved in these neurodegenerative diseases.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0721-832X
,
1435-702X
DOI:
10.1007/s00417-022-05561-5
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2022
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1459159-5
Permalink