Age-Dependent Changes in the Macular Choriocapillaris of Normal Eyes Imaged with Swept-Source OCT Angiography.

Abstract

Purpose : Swept source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) was used to measure the age-dependent changes in macular choriocapillaris (CC) flow deficits (FDs) in normal eyes.

Methods : Subjects with normal eyes were imaged using a 100-kHz SS-OCTA instrument (PLEX^Ò Elite 9000, Carl Zeiss Meditec). Both 3x3 mm and 6x6 mm scans were acquired. Visualization of the CC and quantification of FDs were obtained using a previously validated algorithm. The percentage of FDs (FD%) in the central 1 mm circle (C₁), 1.5 mm rim (R_1.5), and 2.5 mm circle (C_2.5) from the 3x3 mm and 6x6 mm scans and FD% in the 2.5 mm rim (R_2.5) and 5 mm circle (C₅) from the 6x6 mm scans were measured and correlated with age and axial length.

Results : A total of 164 eyes from 164 subjects were enrolled, with at least 10 subjects from each decade of life. Mean axial length was 23.80 ± 1.0 mm. Fifty-six percent of the subjects were women. No meaningful correlations were found between FD% and axial length (|r| < 0.30). Both the 3x3 mm and 6x6 mm scans provided comparable measurements of the FD% within C₁, R_1.5, and C_2.5 (all r > 0.70). FD% in all fields increased with increasing age (all r > 0.50; all P < 0.001); however, the greatest increases were found in the central macula C₁ regions and the smallest increases in the peripheral macula R_2.5 regions.

Conclusions : In normal aging, the FD% increased with age across the central 5 mm of the macula, but the greatest increase was found in the central 1 mm macular region. Future studies of the CC need to consider these age-dependent CC changes when determining if changes in the CC are related to aging or disease.

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