Choroidal vascular characteristics in anisometropic amblyopia: a comparative analysis

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Optometry
• Vision Science

Background:

• Anisometropic amblyopia, a common cause of reduced vision, involves unequal refractive errors between eyes.
• Choroidal structure and vascularity play crucial roles in retinal health and visual function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and compare choroidal characteristics, including area and vascularity, in individuals with myopic and hyperopic anisometropic amblyopia.
• To assess differences in choroidal vascularity index (CVI) and choriocapillaris vessel density (VD) between amblyopic, fellow, and control eyes.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 50 participants with anisometropic amblyopia (20 myopic, 30 hyperopic) and 50 age-matched controls.
• Quantitative analysis of total choroidal area (TCA), luminal choroidal area (LCA), stromal choroidal area, and choroidal vascularity index (CVI) in the subfoveal region.
• Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) was used to measure choriocapillaris vessel density (VD) in macular and peripapillary areas.

Main Results:

• Hyperopic amblyopic eyes exhibited significantly wider LCAs compared to fellow and control eyes; myopic eyes showed the opposite.
• Myopic amblyopic eyes had significantly narrower TCA and LCA than hyperopic eyes.
• Peripapillary vessel density differed significantly in hyperopic eyes (lower inferior, higher nasal) compared to fellow and control eyes, while myopic eyes showed no significant inter-eye differences.

Conclusions:

• Choroidal vascularity index (CVI) and macular vessel density (VD) did not significantly differ between amblyopic and fellow eyes.
• Significant differences in peripapillary vessel density were observed, particularly in hyperopic amblyopia.
• These findings suggest that the peripapillary choroid may be affected earlier than the macula in the development of anisometropic amblyopia.