Retinal and Choroidal Changes in Men Compared with Women with Alzheimer’s Disease

Ophthalmology Science

Srinath Soundararajan, BS¹  Kim G. Johnson, MD¹  Atalie C. Thompson, MD, MPH¹  Rupesh Agrawal, MD¹  Sharon Fekrat, MD²  Dilraj S. Grewal, MD²  Delaram Mirzania, MD³  Andy J. Liu, MD, PhD³  Jia Min Lee, PhD³  Cason B. Robbins, MD³ 

[1] Duke Department of Ophthalmology, Durham, North Carolina;National Healthcare Group Eye Institute, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore;iMIND Research Group, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina;

关键词: Alzheimer's disease;    Gender;    Neurodegeneration;    OCT angiography;    Retina;    Sex;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Purpose: To evaluate differences in the retinal microvasculature and structure and choroidal structure among men and women with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) compared with age-matched cognitively normal male and female controls. Design: Case-control study of participants ≥ 50 years of age. Participants: A total of 202 eyes of 139 subjects (101 cases and 101 controls). Methods: All participants and controls underwent OCT and OCT angiography (OCTA), and parameters of subjects with AD were compared with those of cognitively normal controls. Main Outcome Measures: The foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, vessel density (VD), and perfusion density (PD) in the superficial capillary plexus within the 3- and 6-mm circle and ring using Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) grid overlay on OCTA; central subfield thickness (CST), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness, and choroidal vascularity index (CVI) on OCT. Results: No significant sex differences in VD or PD were found in the AD or control cohorts; however, there were greater differences in VD and PD among AD female participants than AD male participants compared with their respective controls. The CST and FAZ area were not different between male and female AD participants. Among controls, men had a thicker CST (P < 0.001) and smaller FAZ area (P = 0.003) compared with women. The RNFL thickness, GCIPL thickness, and CVI were similar among male and female AD participants and controls. Conclusions: There may be a loss of the physiologic sex-related differences in retinal structure and microvasculature in those with AD compared with controls. Further studies are needed to elucidate the pathophysiological basis for these findings.

【 授权许可】

Unknown