Abstract
Purpose :
To evaluate if choriocapillaris (CHC) vessel density and CHC blood flow are compromised in eyes with reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A).
Methods :
Decorrelation values in OCT-A CHC images of 20 RPD patients were measured in the outer superior sector of the EDTRS grid and compared to age-matched healthy controls. CHC vessel density and CHC flow index were measured within a 30 µm and a 10 µm OCT-A CHC slab. CHC data were correlated to number of RPD lesions, predominantly present RPD stage, predominantly present RPD type, retinal area affected by RPD and choroidal thickness (CT).
Results :
CHC vessel density and CHC flow index decreased in correlation to advancing age in healthy subjects particularly in subjects older than 60 years (CHC vessel density: 30 µm: p=0.0084; 10 µm: p=0.001; CHC flow index: 30 µm: p=0.0012; 10 µm: p=0.001). In the RPD group, CHC vessel density (10 µm: 98.244) and CHC flow index (89.00) were significantly reduced compared to age-matched controls (99.030, p=0.0042; 98.11, p=0.0007). The number of RPD lesions was correlated to a reduced CHC vessel density (30 µm: p=0.0279; 10 µm: p=0.0732) but not to changes in CHC flow index. No correlations were found between CHC parameters and either RPD stage, RPD type, size of RPD affected area or CT.
Conclusions :
OCT-A reveals a distinct reduction in CHC vessel density and CHC blood flow in eyes affected by RPD, which emphasizes the relevance of the CHC layer in RPD pathogenesis.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.