APOE ε4 Gene Carriers Demonstrate Reduced Retinal Capillary Densities in Asymptomatic Older Adults
Early identification of Apolipoprotein E (APOE)-related microvascular pathology will help to study the microangiopathic contribution to Alzheimer’s disease and provide a therapeutic target for early intervention. To evaluate the differences in retinal microvasculature parameters between APOE ε4 carr...
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/12/17/5649 |
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| author | Ziyi Zhang William Robert Kwapong Le Cao Zijuan Feng Bo Wu Junfeng Liu Shuting Zhang |
| author_facet | Ziyi Zhang William Robert Kwapong Le Cao Zijuan Feng Bo Wu Junfeng Liu Shuting Zhang |
| author_sort | Ziyi Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Early identification of Apolipoprotein E (APOE)-related microvascular pathology will help to study the microangiopathic contribution to Alzheimer’s disease and provide a therapeutic target for early intervention. To evaluate the differences in retinal microvasculature parameters between APOE ε4 carriers and non-carriers, asymptomatic older adults aged ≥ 55 years underwent APOE ε4 genotype analysis, neuropsychological examination, and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) imaging. One hundred sixty-three older adults were included in the data analysis. Participants were also defined as cognitively impaired (CI) and non-cognitively impaired (NCI) according to their MoCA scores and educational years. APOE ε4 carriers demonstrated reduced SVC (<i>p</i> = 0.023) compared to APOE ε4 non-carriers. Compared to NCI, CI participants showed reduced SVC density (<i>p</i> = 0.006). In the NCI group, no significant differences (<i>p</i> > 0.05) were observed in the microvascular densities between APOE ε4 carriers and non-carriers. In the CI group, APOE ε4 carriers displayed reduced microvascular densities compared to non-carriers (SVC, <i>p</i> = 0.006; DVC, <i>p</i> = 0.048). We showed that CI and APOE ε4 affect retinal microvasculature in older adults. Quantitative measures of the retinal microvasculature could serve as surrogates for brain microcirculation, providing an opportunity to study microvascular contributions to AD. |
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| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:19:25Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
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| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-5a5ca49ee61c4c66a74607a1ca3136052023-11-19T08:23:29ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832023-08-011217564910.3390/jcm12175649APOE ε4 Gene Carriers Demonstrate Reduced Retinal Capillary Densities in Asymptomatic Older AdultsZiyi Zhang0William Robert Kwapong1Le Cao2Zijuan Feng3Bo Wu4Junfeng Liu5Shuting Zhang6Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, ChinaDepartment of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, ChinaDepartment of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, ChinaDepartment of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, ChinaDepartment of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, ChinaDepartment of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, ChinaDepartment of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, ChinaEarly identification of Apolipoprotein E (APOE)-related microvascular pathology will help to study the microangiopathic contribution to Alzheimer’s disease and provide a therapeutic target for early intervention. To evaluate the differences in retinal microvasculature parameters between APOE ε4 carriers and non-carriers, asymptomatic older adults aged ≥ 55 years underwent APOE ε4 genotype analysis, neuropsychological examination, and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) imaging. One hundred sixty-three older adults were included in the data analysis. Participants were also defined as cognitively impaired (CI) and non-cognitively impaired (NCI) according to their MoCA scores and educational years. APOE ε4 carriers demonstrated reduced SVC (<i>p</i> = 0.023) compared to APOE ε4 non-carriers. Compared to NCI, CI participants showed reduced SVC density (<i>p</i> = 0.006). In the NCI group, no significant differences (<i>p</i> > 0.05) were observed in the microvascular densities between APOE ε4 carriers and non-carriers. In the CI group, APOE ε4 carriers displayed reduced microvascular densities compared to non-carriers (SVC, <i>p</i> = 0.006; DVC, <i>p</i> = 0.048). We showed that CI and APOE ε4 affect retinal microvasculature in older adults. Quantitative measures of the retinal microvasculature could serve as surrogates for brain microcirculation, providing an opportunity to study microvascular contributions to AD.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/12/17/5649APOE genotypecognitionoptical coherence tomography angiographyretinal microvasculatureAlzheimer’s disease |
| spellingShingle | Ziyi Zhang William Robert Kwapong Le Cao Zijuan Feng Bo Wu Junfeng Liu Shuting Zhang APOE ε4 Gene Carriers Demonstrate Reduced Retinal Capillary Densities in Asymptomatic Older Adults Journal of Clinical Medicine APOE genotype cognition optical coherence tomography angiography retinal microvasculature Alzheimer’s disease |
| title | APOE ε4 Gene Carriers Demonstrate Reduced Retinal Capillary Densities in Asymptomatic Older Adults |
| title_full | APOE ε4 Gene Carriers Demonstrate Reduced Retinal Capillary Densities in Asymptomatic Older Adults |
| title_fullStr | APOE ε4 Gene Carriers Demonstrate Reduced Retinal Capillary Densities in Asymptomatic Older Adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | APOE ε4 Gene Carriers Demonstrate Reduced Retinal Capillary Densities in Asymptomatic Older Adults |
| title_short | APOE ε4 Gene Carriers Demonstrate Reduced Retinal Capillary Densities in Asymptomatic Older Adults |
| title_sort | apoe ε4 gene carriers demonstrate reduced retinal capillary densities in asymptomatic older adults |
| topic | APOE genotype cognition optical coherence tomography angiography retinal microvasculature Alzheimer’s disease |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/12/17/5649 |
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