Ocular Vascular Changes in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease Patients: Foveal Avascular Zone, Choroidal Thickness, and ONH Hemoglobin Analysis
In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), vascular changes could be caused by amyloid beta (Aβ) aggregates replacing the contractile smooth musculature of the arteriole walls. These changes happen in the brain vascular network, but also in the eye, and are related to decreased vascular density and low blood flow...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Personalized Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/10/4/231 |
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| author | Elena Salobrar-Garcia Carmen Méndez-Hernández Rosa de Hoz Ana I. Ramírez Inés López-Cuenca José A. Fernández-Albarral Pilar Rojas Surina Wang Julián García-Feijoo Pedro Gil Juan J. Salazar José M. Ramírez |
| author_facet | Elena Salobrar-Garcia Carmen Méndez-Hernández Rosa de Hoz Ana I. Ramírez Inés López-Cuenca José A. Fernández-Albarral Pilar Rojas Surina Wang Julián García-Feijoo Pedro Gil Juan J. Salazar José M. Ramírez |
| author_sort | Elena Salobrar-Garcia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), vascular changes could be caused by amyloid beta (Aβ) aggregates replacing the contractile smooth musculature of the arteriole walls. These changes happen in the brain vascular network, but also in the eye, and are related to decreased vascular density and low blood flow. In patients with Alzheimer’s disease, thinning of the choroid and the retina has been shown. The aim of this prospective study was to assess the retinal and choroidal vascular systems, analyzing the choroidal thickness with optical coherence tomography (OCT), the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) with OCT-angiography (OCTA), and the optic nerve head (ONH) hemoglobin with the Laguna ONhE program, to evaluate which of the two ocular vascular systems shows earlier changes in mild AD patients. These patients, compared to controls, showed a significantly thinner choroid at all the analyzed points, with the exception of the temporal macula (at 1000 and 1500 µm from the fovea). On the other hand, the FAZ and ONH hemoglobin did not show significant differences. In conclusion, a thinner choroid was the main ocular vascular change observed in mild AD patients, while the retinal vessels were not yet affected. Therefore, choroidal thickness could be used an early biomarker in AD. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:49:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a4e209553677413ebe58c2134d435296 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4426 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:49:59Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Personalized Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-a4e209553677413ebe58c2134d4352962023-11-20T21:02:46ZengMDPI AGJournal of Personalized Medicine2075-44262020-11-0110423110.3390/jpm10040231Ocular Vascular Changes in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease Patients: Foveal Avascular Zone, Choroidal Thickness, and ONH Hemoglobin AnalysisElena Salobrar-Garcia0Carmen Méndez-Hernández1Rosa de Hoz2Ana I. Ramírez3Inés López-Cuenca4José A. Fernández-Albarral5Pilar Rojas6Surina Wang7Julián García-Feijoo8Pedro Gil9Juan J. Salazar10José M. Ramírez11Instituto de Investigaciones Oftalmológicas Ramón Castroviejo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), 28040 Madrid, SpainOFTARED-ISCIII, 28040 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Investigaciones Oftalmológicas Ramón Castroviejo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), 28040 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Investigaciones Oftalmológicas Ramón Castroviejo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), 28040 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Investigaciones Oftalmológicas Ramón Castroviejo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), 28040 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Investigaciones Oftalmológicas Ramón Castroviejo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), 28040 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Investigaciones Oftalmológicas Ramón Castroviejo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), 28040 Madrid, SpainHospital Clínico San Carlos, Institute of Health Care Research of the Hospital Clínico San Carlos (IdISSC), 28040 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Investigaciones Oftalmológicas Ramón Castroviejo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), 28040 Madrid, SpainUnidad de Memoria, Servicio de Geriatría, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, 28040 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Investigaciones Oftalmológicas Ramón Castroviejo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), 28040 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Investigaciones Oftalmológicas Ramón Castroviejo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), 28040 Madrid, SpainIn Alzheimer’s disease (AD), vascular changes could be caused by amyloid beta (Aβ) aggregates replacing the contractile smooth musculature of the arteriole walls. These changes happen in the brain vascular network, but also in the eye, and are related to decreased vascular density and low blood flow. In patients with Alzheimer’s disease, thinning of the choroid and the retina has been shown. The aim of this prospective study was to assess the retinal and choroidal vascular systems, analyzing the choroidal thickness with optical coherence tomography (OCT), the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) with OCT-angiography (OCTA), and the optic nerve head (ONH) hemoglobin with the Laguna ONhE program, to evaluate which of the two ocular vascular systems shows earlier changes in mild AD patients. These patients, compared to controls, showed a significantly thinner choroid at all the analyzed points, with the exception of the temporal macula (at 1000 and 1500 µm from the fovea). On the other hand, the FAZ and ONH hemoglobin did not show significant differences. In conclusion, a thinner choroid was the main ocular vascular change observed in mild AD patients, while the retinal vessels were not yet affected. Therefore, choroidal thickness could be used an early biomarker in AD.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/10/4/231Alzheimer’seye vascular networkchoroidretinaOCTOCTA |
| spellingShingle | Elena Salobrar-Garcia Carmen Méndez-Hernández Rosa de Hoz Ana I. Ramírez Inés López-Cuenca José A. Fernández-Albarral Pilar Rojas Surina Wang Julián García-Feijoo Pedro Gil Juan J. Salazar José M. Ramírez Ocular Vascular Changes in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease Patients: Foveal Avascular Zone, Choroidal Thickness, and ONH Hemoglobin Analysis Journal of Personalized Medicine Alzheimer’s eye vascular network choroid retina OCT OCTA |
| title | Ocular Vascular Changes in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease Patients: Foveal Avascular Zone, Choroidal Thickness, and ONH Hemoglobin Analysis |
| title_full | Ocular Vascular Changes in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease Patients: Foveal Avascular Zone, Choroidal Thickness, and ONH Hemoglobin Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Ocular Vascular Changes in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease Patients: Foveal Avascular Zone, Choroidal Thickness, and ONH Hemoglobin Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ocular Vascular Changes in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease Patients: Foveal Avascular Zone, Choroidal Thickness, and ONH Hemoglobin Analysis |
| title_short | Ocular Vascular Changes in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease Patients: Foveal Avascular Zone, Choroidal Thickness, and ONH Hemoglobin Analysis |
| title_sort | ocular vascular changes in mild alzheimer s disease patients foveal avascular zone choroidal thickness and onh hemoglobin analysis |
| topic | Alzheimer’s eye vascular network choroid retina OCT OCTA |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/10/4/231 |
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