Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) is a novel tool that allows the detection of retinal vascular changes. We investigated the association of macular vessel density (VD) in the superficial plexus assessed by OCT-A with measures of cerebrovascular pathology and atrophy quantified by brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in non-demented individuals. Clinical, demographical, OCT-A, and brain MRI data from non-demented research participants were included. We analyzed the association of regional macular VD with brain vascular burden using the Fazekas scale assessed in a logistic regression analysis, and the volume of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) assessed in a multiple linear regression analysis. We also explored the associations of macular VD with hippocampal volume, ventricle volume and Alzheimer disease cortical signature (ADCS) thickness assessed in multiple linear regression analyses. All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, syndromic diagnosis and cardiovascular variables. The study cohort comprised 188 participants: 89 with subjective cognitive decline and 99 with mild cognitive impairment. No significant association of regional macular VD with the Fazekas categories (all, p > 0.111) and WMH volume (all, p > 0.051) were detected. VD in the nasal quadrant was associated to hippocampal volume (p = 0.007), but no other associations of macular VD with brain atrophy measures were detected (all, p > 0.05). Retinal vascular measures were not a proxy of cerebrovascular damage in non-demented individuals, while VD in the nasal quadrant was associated with hippocampal atrophy independently of the amyloid status.

中文翻译：

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浅丛中的黄斑血管密度并不能代表非痴呆个体的脑血管损伤：来自 NORFACE 队列的数据

光学相干断层扫描血管造影（OCT-A）是一种新颖的工具，可以检测视网膜血管变化。我们研究了 OCT-A 评估的浅丛黄斑血管密度 (VD) 与非痴呆个体脑血管病理学和萎缩测量的关联，通过脑磁共振成像 (MRI) 量化。包括来自非痴呆研究参与者的临床、人口统计、OCT-A 和脑部 MRI 数据。我们使用逻辑回归分析中评估的 Fazekas 量表以及多元线性回归分析中评估的白质高信号 (WMH) 体积来分析区域黄斑 VD 与脑血管负荷的关联。我们还探讨了黄斑 VD 与海马体积、心室体积和阿尔茨海默病皮质特征 (ADCS) 厚度的关联，这些厚度是在多元线性回归分析中评估的。所有分析均根据年龄、性别、综合征诊断和心血管变量进行调整。该研究队列由 188 名参与者组成：89 名患有主观认知能力下降，99 名患有轻度认知障碍。未检测到区域黄斑 VD 与 Fazekas 类别（全部，p > 0.111）和 WMH 体积（全部，p > 0.051）之间存在显着关联。鼻象限的 VD 与海马体积相关（p = 0.007），但没有检测到黄斑 VD 与脑萎缩测量的其他关联（全部，p > 0.05）。视网膜血管测量并不能代表非痴呆个体的脑血管损伤，而鼻象限的 VD 与海马萎缩相关，与淀粉样蛋白状态无关。