RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Quantitative changes in the ageing choriocapillaris as measured by swept source optical coherence tomography angiography
JF British Journal of Ophthalmology
JO Br J Ophthalmol
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.
SP 1320
OP 1326
DO 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2018-313004
VO 103
IS 9
A1 Riccardo Sacconi
A1 Enrico Borrelli
A1 Eleonora Corbelli
A1 Luigi Capone
A1 Alessandro Rabiolo
A1 Adriano Carnevali
A1 Marco Casaluci
A1 Francesco Gelormini
A1 Lea Querques
A1 Francesco Bandello
A1 Giuseppe Querques
YR 2019
UL http://bjo.bmj.com/content/103/9/1320.abstract
AB Aim To analyse quantitative optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) parameters of choriocapillaris (CC) at the foveal, perifoveal and parafoveal regions in healthy subjects of different age.Methods In this observational cross-sectional study, consecutive healthy subjects underwent swept source OCTA (PLEX Elite 9000, Carl Zeiss Meditec, USA). 3×3 mm and 6×6 mm scans centred on the fovea were acquired analysed and postprocessed with thresholding and binarisation processes. The main outcome measures included CC quantitative OCTA features (perfusion density (PD), vessel length density (VLD) and vessel diameter index (VDI)) at the foveal, perifoveal and parafoveal regions, and their relationship with age.Results Seventy-two eyes (72 patients, mean age 47.4±19.2 years, mean axial length 24.0±0.7 mm) were included. The mean PD was statistically lower in the foveal region compared with the parafoveal region in 3×3 mm scans (p=0.009). In subjects aged 70–80, PD of the foveal region was significantly reduced compared with the perifoveal region in 6×6 mm scans (p=0.008). A strong negative correlation was found between PD and ageing in the foveal, parafoveal and perifoveal regions (p<0.001 in all analyses). Furthermore, PD in the nasal-perifoveal region was significantly lower than the temporal-perifoveal region (p=0.005). No significant correlation was found between VLD and age in all regions, whereas VDI was strictly correlated with age (p<0.001).Conclusions We reported in vivo a strong negative correlation between PD and ageing in the CC of healthy subjects. This reduction seems related to a reduced diameter, and not to a reduced number, of capillaries. The age-related changes were higher in the central area compared with the perifoveal area.