RETINAL ARTERIAL DILATION IS IMPAIRED IN EYES WITH DRUSEN AND RETICULAR PSEUDODRUSEN

To analyze static characteristics and dynamic functionality of retinal vessels in eyes with drusen and reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) using dynamic vessel analyzer.

Patients with clinical diagnosis of isolated RPD or medium-large drusen and healthy controls were enrolled in the study between July 2016 and May 2018. Participants underwent complete ophthalmologic examination, including enhanced depth imaging structural optical coherence tomography, dynamic retinal vessel analysis, and static retinal vessel analysis.

Twenty-eight eyes of 23 patients with drusen (9 men, mean age 77 ± 6 years), 22 eyes of 16 patients with RPD (7 men, mean age: 76 ± 6 years), and 22 eyes of 22 control subjects (11 men, mean age of 75 ± 6 years) were enrolled. Static retinal vessel analysis did not show any significant difference between the three groups for the central retinal artery equivalent (P = 0.11), the central retinal vein equivalent (P = 0.27), and the arteriovenous ratio (P = 0.30). Dynamic vessel analysis showed significantly reduced arterial dilation in eyes with drusen (P = 0.0001) and RPD (P = 0.015) compared with control subjects. No significant difference was seen between drusen and RPD groups (P = 0.32). Dynamic vessel analysis of retinal veins showed no differences between the three groups (P = 0.10).

Dynamic vessel analysis in eyes with drusen and RPD revealed an impaired retinal arterial dilation in response to flicker light stimulation, which further supports the relationship between cardiovascular risk and age-related macular degeneration.