Abstract
Purpose :
To examine the relationship between retinal pericyte and capillary density using Adaptive Optics Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO) and Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) in a population of diabetic eyes without clinical signs of retinopathy (DMnoDR) and healthy controls.
Methods :
26 eyes, 13 DMnoDR and 13 healthy controls, were imaged using OCTA to capture five 3x3 mm scans of the study eye, and AOSLO imaging to obtain off-set aperture images of individual vessels within the same eye. Capillary density OCTA data was averaged to obtain mean vessel density for the superficial (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP) of each eye. On the AOSLO images, two separate, 100 um regions were marked along the arterial wall and the pericyte counts within each region were used to determine an average pericyte density.
Results :
We observed a significant decrease in pericyte density in DMnoDR eyes (4.27 ± 1.68) as compared to healthy controls (6.23 ± 1.57; p=0.0058). No significant difference was evident on OCTA between the two groups. Importantly, we saw a positive correlation between pericyte and capillary density, which was significant for the SCP (p=0.0145).
Conclusions :
A significant decline in pericyte density in diabetic eyes prior to clinically evident retinopathy presents a new approach for detecting retinopathy before classical clinical signs. The correlation between pericyte and capillary density demonstrates the relationship between loss of pericytes and the development of non-perfusion, providing insight into pericyte involvement in retinal ischemic diseases.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.