Abstract
Purpose :
To evaluate the association between the retinal peripapillary capillaries (RPCs) and macular capillary plexus (MCP) in normal subjects, based on data obtained with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) from the Taiwa Study.
Methods :
This cross-sectional study comprised 102 eyes of 102 healthy Japanese subjects (47.8 ± 14.7 YO) who underwent OCTA (SS-OCT Angio device: Topcon Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) imaging of a 4.5 × 4.5-mm area of the optic nerve head and 3.0 × 3.0-mm area of the macula. Automatic analysis software (Topcon) set a dividing line 70.2 μm below the internal limiting membrane in the retinal peripapillary area (i.e., below the superficial RPCs). The software also set a dividing line 15.6 μm below the boundary between the inner plexiform layer and inner nuclear layer in the macula (i.e., below the superficial MCP and above the deep MCP). We measured superficial RPC vessel density, as a percentage of area, in the four quadrants (superior, inferior, temporal, and nasal), as well as superficial and deep MCP vessel density. We then determined the statistical association between these measurements.
Results :
Vessel density in the superficial RPCs, superficial MCP, and deep MCP was 50.8 ± 2.7%, 43.2 ± 2.3% and 44.4 ± 2.2%, respectively. Superficial RPC vessel density by quadrant was as follows: superior, 52.0 ± 4.3%; inferior, 51.9 ± 4.0%; temporal, 52.0 ± 4.5%; and nasal 46.9 ± 4.6%. Superficial RPC and deep MCP vessel density were not correlated (P = 0.14), while superficial RPC and superficial MCP vessel density were positively correlated (r = 0.26, P < 0.01). Superficial MCP vessel density was also correlated with superior, inferior, and temporal superficial RPC vessel density (r = 0.30, P < 0.01; r = 0.26, P < 0.01; and r = 0.21, P < 0.05, respectively).
Conclusions :
Data from the Taiwa Study revealed a relationship between superficial retinal microcirculation in the peripapillary and macular capillaries in normal subjects. Furthermore, superficial MCP had a particularly strong association with superficial RPC density in the superior and inferior quadrants.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.