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Updated: Aug 16, 2026
Evaluation of Capillary and Other Vessel Contribution to Macular Perfusion Density Measured with Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography
Published on: February 18, 2022
Analysis of macular and optic nerve vasculature using optical coherence tomography angiography in patients with human
Oksan Isik1, Harold Merle1,2, Mitta Pierre1
1Ophthalmology Department, University Hospital of Martinique, Fort-de-France, France.
Purpose:
To compare macular and optic nerve head (ONH) microvasculature using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) in asymptomatic human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) carriers and patients with HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), in search of potential biomarkers of disease development.
Methods:
Pilot study analyzing quantitative OCT-A parameters of the macula and ONH vasculature in asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers (group 1) and patients with HAM/TSP (group 2).
Results:
Up to 41 eyes of 21 patients were included. Macular total vessel density and perfusion density (PD) were 18.72 mm/mm2 [95% CI: 17.58-19.86] and 32.34% [95% CI: 29.95-34.92] in group 1 vs. 18.32 mm/mm2 [95% CI: 17.06-19.58] (p = 0.59) and 32.19% [95% CI: 29.45-35.16] (p = 1) in group 2. Foveal avascular zone area, perimeter and circularity were similar in both groups (0.255 mm2 [95% CI: 0.157-0.354] vs. 0.293 mm2 [95% CI: 0.180-0.406], p = 0.41, 2.124 mm [95% CI: 1.782-2.531] vs. 2.344 mm [95% CI: 1.916-2.867], p = 0.41, and 0.634 [95% CI: 0.588-0.680] vs. 0.603 [95% CI: 0.551-0.655], p = 0.32, in group 1 vs. group 2 respectively). Peripapillary PD and flux index (FI) were 43.95% [95% CI: 42.90-45.03] vs. 43.19% [95% CI: 42.01-44.40], p = 0.29, and 0.425 [95% CI: 0.41-0.44] vs. 0.403 [95% CI: 0.38-0.42], p = 0.08, in group 1 vs. group 2, respectively.
Conclusion:
Despite limitations related to sample size and disease rarity, this pilot study revealed no statistically significant differences in the macular and ONH microvascular parameters assessed by OCT-A between HAM/TSP patients and asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers. Further investigations are needed in larger longitudinal multicenter studies regarding the peripapillary FI, which tends to be lower in patients with HAM/TSP.
