Retinal structure and vessel density changes in cerebral small vessel disease

Abstract

Background: Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) attaches people's attention in recent years. In this study, we aim to explore retinal structure and vessel density changes in CSVD patients.

Methods: We collected information on retinal metrics assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography and CSVD characters. Logistic and liner regression was used to analyze the relationship between retinal metrics and CSVD.

Results: Vessel density of superficial retinal capillary plexus (SRCP), foveal density- 300 length (FD-300), radial peripapillary capillary (RPC) and thickness of retina were significantly lower in CSVD patients, the difference only existed in the thickness of retina after adjusted relevant risk factors (OR (95% CI): 0.954 (0.912, 0.997), p = 0.037). SRCP vessel density showed a significant downward trend with the increase of CSVD scores (β: -0.087, 95%CI: -0.166, -0.008, p = 0.031). SRCP and FD-300 were significantly lower in patients with lacunar infarctions and white matter hypertensions separately [OR (95% CI): 0.857 (0.736, 0.998), p = 0.047 and OR (95% CI): 0.636 (0.434, 0.932), p = 0.020, separately].

Conclusion: SRCP, FD-300 and thickness of retina were associated with the occurrence and severity of total CSVD scores and its different radiological manifestations. Exploring CSVD by observing alterations in retinal metrics has become an optional research direction in future.

Keywords: cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD); diagnosis; neuro-ophtalmology; retinal structure; retinal vessel density.

Figure 1

The flowchart of the study.

Figure 2

Effect of different ophthalmic metrics on different CSVD imaging manifestations. WMH, white matter hypertensions; SRCP, superficial retinal capillary plexus; FD-300, foveal density- 300 length; RPC, radial peripapillary capillary; RT, retinal thickness; LI, lacunar infarctions; PVS, perivascular spaces; CMB, cerebral microbleeds.