PLoS ONE (Jan 2021)

Quantitative assessment of retinal thickness and vessel density using optical coherence tomography angiography in patients with Alzheimer's disease and glaucoma.

  • Przemyslaw Zabel,
  • Jakub J Kaluzny,
  • Katarzyna Zabel,
  • Martyna Kaluzna,
  • Aleksander Lamkowski,
  • Damian Jaworski,
  • Jaroslaw Makowski,
  • Martyna Gebska-Toloczko,
  • Robert Kucharski

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248284
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 3
p. e0248284

Abstract

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PurposeAssessment and a direct comparison of retinal vessel density with the thickness of inner retinal layer (IRL) and outer retinal layer (ORL) in the same regions of the macula in subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).MethodsWe analyzed data from 48 eyes of healthy control (HC) participants, 71 eyes with POAG, and 49 eyes of AD patients. Ophthalmic examination included optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging to measure IRL and ORL thickness and OCT angiography (OCTA) in the same region for the imaging of vessel density in the superficial vascular plexus (SVP) and deep vascular plexus (DVP) of the retina. A direct comparison of vessel density and retinal layers thickness, which different dynamic ranges, was obtained by normalizing values as percentage losses.ResultsPatients with AD presented significantly greater losses of vascular density in the DVP and ORL thickness compared to POAG (p ConclusionsAnalysis of ORL thickness and vessel density in DVP could potentially improve diagnostic capabilities and may provide a valuable approach for predicting of AD.