Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science Cover Image for Volume 60, Issue 9
July 2019
Volume 60, Issue 9
Open Access
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   July 2019
Retinal oxygen metabolism is altered in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Stephan Szegedi
    Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
  • Peter Dal-Bianco
    Department of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
  • Elisabeth Stögmann
    Department of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
  • Tatjana Traub-Weidinger
    Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
  • Michael Rainer
    Department of Psychiatry, Social and Medical Centre East - Danube Hospital, Vienna, Austria
    Karl Landsteiner Institute for Memory and Alzheimer Research, Vienna, Austria
  • Andreas Masching
    Department of Psychiatry, Social and Medical Centre East - Danube Hospital, Vienna, Austria
  • Doreen Schmidl
    Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
  • René M Werkmeister
    Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
  • Leopold Schmetterer
    Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
    Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, Singapore
  • Gerhard Garhofer
    Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships   Stephan Szegedi, None; Peter Dal-Bianco, None; Elisabeth Stögmann, None; Tatjana Traub-Weidinger, None; Michael Rainer, None; Andreas Masching, None; Doreen Schmidl, None; René Werkmeister, None; Leopold Schmetterer, None; Gerhard Garhofer, None
  • Footnotes
    Support  Support from the Austrian Science Foundation (FWF, Project KLI529)
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science July 2019, Vol.60, 21. doi:
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      Stephan Szegedi, Peter Dal-Bianco, Elisabeth Stögmann, Tatjana Traub-Weidinger, Michael Rainer, Andreas Masching, Doreen Schmidl, René M Werkmeister, Leopold Schmetterer, Gerhard Garhofer; Retinal oxygen metabolism is altered in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2019;60(9):21.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Purpose : There is evidence that systemic neuro-degenerative diseases such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer's disease (AD) are accompanied by structural and functional alterations in the neural tissue of the retina. The current study was performed to investigate a potential difference in retinal oxygen metabolism in patients with systemic neurodegenerative disease compared to age matched, healthy controls.

Methods : Patients with either MCI or with a mild to moderate degree of dementia due to AD were included in this case-control clinical trial. Inclusion criteria for MCI were abnormal memory function, normal general cognitive function and a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score > 26, for AD, a diagnosis of probable AD of mild to moderate degree according to the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association (NINCDS-ADRDA) criteria and an MMSE score in the range of 20 to 26.

Oxygen saturation in retinal vessels was measured using a Retinal Vessel Analyzer (Imedos, Jena, Germany). The arteriovenous difference in SO2 was calculated by subtracting the mean venous SO2 from the mean arterial SO2. In addition, retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) was assessed using an optical coherence tomography system (Heidelberg Spectralis OCT, Germany).

Results : Forty-one patients and 23 healthy subjects (mean age 72.7±9.2 years vs. 70.0±7.7 years, p=0.23) were included in this study. Oxygen saturation in retinal vessels was not significantly different between patients with MCI or AD and healthy subjects (arteries: 94.4±4.9% vs. 95.6±3.1%, p=0.27, veins: 73.9±7.3% vs. 72.2±5.1%, p=0.32). In contrast, arteriovenous difference in retinal SO2 was significantly reduced in patients with MCI or AD compared to healthy subjects (20.5±5.1% vs. 23.4±3.9%, p=0.02). RNFLT tended to be lower in patients compared to healthy controls (93.9±13.5 vs. 99.7±9.1µm, p = 0.07).

Conclusions : In patients with MCI and AD, the arteriovenous difference in SO2 was reduced. This may reflect changes in retinal oxygen consumption. In addition, RNFLT was found to be lower in patients compared to healthy controls, although not statistically significant. These findings are in concordance with previous studies showing alterations in retinal oxygen metabolism as well as RNFLT in patients with neurodegenerative disease.

This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.

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