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Retinal Vascular Reactivity as Assessed by Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography
Published on: March 26, 2020
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Quantification of Macular Microvascular Changes in Retinitis Pigmentosa Using Optical Coherence Tomography
Heba Radi AttaAllah1, Asmaa Anwar Mohamed Mohamed1, Mohamed A Hamid1
1Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt.
Clinical Ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.)
|July 2, 2020
Summary
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) eyes show reduced retinal thickness and microvascular density in all layers, with larger foveal avascular zones. These changes correlate with ellipsoid zone disruption, highlighting the importance of vascular health for RP therapies.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Retinal Imaging
- Vascular Biology
Background:
- Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited retinal diseases causing progressive vision loss.
- Understanding structural and microvascular changes in RP is crucial for developing effective treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate macular structural and microvascular changes in retinitis pigmentosa (RP) using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA).
- To compare these changes in RP eyes with age-matched healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study involving 30 RP eyes and 24 control eyes.
- Measurements included foveal and parafoveal thickness, ellipsoid zone (EZ) disruption, foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, and retinal vessel density (VD) in superficial (SCP) and deep (DCP) capillary plexuses and choriocapillaris.
- OCTA-integrated software was used for automated calculations.
Main Results:
- RP eyes had significantly lower foveal and parafoveal thickness and significant EZ disruption.
- Larger FAZ areas were observed in both SCP and DCP in RP eyes.
- Reduced VD was found in RP eyes across all studied vascular layers (SCP, DCP, choriocapillaris).
- Visual acuity and vessel density correlated negatively with EZ disruption extent.
Conclusions:
- OCT angiography reveals significant microvascular density reduction in all retinal layers in a young RP cohort.
- These findings underscore the importance of retinal vasculature for RP progression and the potential success of cell-based therapies.
