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Microvascular Changes in the Retina Correlate with MRI Markers in Patients with Early-Onset Dementia

Ziyi Zhang1, Peng Liu2, William Robert Kwapong1

  • 1Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guo Xue Xiang, Chengdu 610041, China.

Brain Sciences
|October 27, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Retinal microvascular changes, including the foveal avascular zone (FAZ), correlate with brain atrophy and white matter hyperintensities in early-onset dementia (EOD) patients, suggesting a link between retinal and cerebral microcirculation.

Area of Science:

  • Ophthalmology
  • Neurology
  • Medical Imaging

Background:

  • Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) may reflect cerebral microcirculation changes in dementia.
  • Macular microvascular impairment is observed in dementia patients.
  • The correlation between retinal microvasculature and radiological scores in early-onset dementia (EOD) is largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between retinal microvasculature and radiological visual rating in EOD patients.

Main Methods:

  • Swept-source OCTA (SS-OCTA) was used to image retinal microvasculature in EOD patients.
  • Automated software measured densities in the superficial vascular plexus (SVC), deep vascular plexus (DVC), and foveal avascular zone (FAZ).
  • Radiological visual rating scores were assessed on MR images.

Main Results:

  • Medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) scores correlated with FAZ area (p=0.031).
  • Periventricular white matter hyperintensities (PWMH) correlated with SVC (p=0.032).
  • Deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMH) significantly correlated with SVC (p=0.007), DVC (p=0.018), and FAZ (p=0.001).

Conclusions:

  • FAZ changes in the retina correlate with MTA scores in EOD.
  • Retinal microvascular changes correlate with white matter hyperintensities in EOD.
  • Retinal microvascular alterations may indicate cortical changes in the brain of EOD patients.
Keywords:
early-onset dementiamedial temporal lobe atrophyoptical coherence tomography angiographyretinal microvasculaturewhite matter hyperintensity

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