Insight into the Brain: Application of the Retinal Microvasculature As a Biomarker for Cerebrovascular Diseases Through Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Overview

Journal Curr Ophthalmol Rep

Specialty Ophthalmology

Date 2024 Sep 23

PMID 39310044

Authors

Liang Wang

Serena Shah

Cristina Nicole Llaneras

Raquel Goldhardt

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose Of Review: The present article serves as a comprehensive review of the published research literature surrounding the retinal microvasculature, characterized through the optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and its potential clinical value for understanding and detecting cerebrovascular diseases.

Recent Findings: Studies from the past 3 years (2020-2023) have identified a degeneration of the retinal microvasculature, commonly defined through the loss of vascular density, in ischemic stroke, dementia, carotid artery stenosis, cerebral small vessel disease, and a series of rare, potentially inherited cerebrovascular disorders. These retinal microvascular changes often correlate with structure and functional changes in the brain and sometimes occur prior to debilitating neurodegeneration.

Summary: While further investigations with longitudinal data and larger sample sizes are necessary, OCTA shows promising results for characterizing the retinal microvasculature as a potential imaging biomarker in reflecting the changes in the cerebral microvasculature for early detection, prevention, and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases.

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