Retinal microvascular alterations in Parkinson's disease: visual analysis and meta-analysis

Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is a novel ocular imaging technique that has garnered significant attention from neurologists due to its ability to assess retinal microvascular changes in neurodegenerative diseases. In recent years, numerous studies have reported retinal microvascular abnormalities in Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study, we employ visual analysis and meta-analysis to identify research trends regarding the application of OCTA in PD, and to evaluate the potential of retinal blood flow alterations as an early diagnostic marker for PD.

This study combines visual analysis and meta-analysis. A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science identified articles on retinal microvascular changes in PD patients using OCTA. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to analyze keywords and trends, while RevMan 5.4 conducted the meta-analysis on eligible studies.

A total of 28 studies from the Web of Science database were included for visual analysis, revealing a growing research focus on retinal microvascular changes in PD. The meta-analysis, which incorporated 19 studies, demonstrated a significant reduction in the density of the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) in PD patients. However, findings related to the deep capillary plexus (DCP) and the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) varied across studies. Additionally, several investigations reported a correlation between microvascular density and disease severity.

The findings support the use of OCTA as a noninvasive, objective tool for the early diagnosis and monitoring of PD progression, emphasizing its potential for clinical application in the preclinical stages of the disease.