Abstract
Purpose :
Schizophrenia is a neurodegenerative disorder that poses a significant burden on society. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has shown pathology in the retina of patients, mainly retinal nerve fiber layer and ganglion cell layer thinning, but the neurobiological bases of these changes are unknown. One possible source may be vascular abnormalities that have contributed to these changes. The purpose of this study was to use OCT-angiography (OCTA) to analyze macular vessel density (VD), vessel skeleton density (VSD), foveal avascular zone (FAZ) size and acircularity in subjects with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder (SSD) and controls to establish whether SSD is associated with macular vascular changes.
Methods :
We recruited 50 SSD patients (mean ± SD age: 35.3 ± 11.2 years) and 39 age-matched controls (mean ± SD age: 35.8 ± 13.5 years). We obtained 3x3-mm OCTA images centered on the fovea at three depths: whole retina, superficial capillary plexus (SCP), and deep capillary plexus (DCP). Image analysis was conducted using ImageJ software. To analyze VD and VSD, images were binarized with the local Phansalkar method, then the Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) grid was overlaid to allow regional analysis in superior, nasal, inferior, and temporal quadrants (figure 1). We measured FAZ size and acircularity using whole retina images. IBM SPSS software with a General Estimating Equation was used for statistical analysis.
Results :
The mean VD for the whole retina for the SSD group was 50.8 ± 3.0 and for the control group was 51.0 ± 2.5 (p=0.717). There was also a non-significant difference in VD between SSD and control groups in SCP (p=0.523) and DCP (p=0.980) as well as in all quadrants individually. The mean VSD for the whole retina for the SSD group was 9.0 ± 0.6 and for the control group was 9.0 ± 0.5 (p=0.790). There was also a non-significant difference in VSD between SSD and control groups in SCP (p=0.647) and DCP (p=0.711) as well as in all quadrants individually. No significant difference was found between groups in FAZ size (p=0.381) or acircularity (p=0.178).
Conclusions :
Our results suggest that macular vascular structures as measured by VD, VSD, FAZ size and acircularity appeared similar in SSD patients compared with age-matched controls. Other potential causes for the retinal neural tissue changes previously found in SSD should be investigated.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.