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Table 4 Optical coherence tomography angiography studies on individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment

From: Retinal microvasculature dysfunction is associated with Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment

Author

Sample

Neurocognitive diagnosis

OCTA imaging

Adjusted for confounders

Projection artifact removed

Corrected for FAZ

Superficial capillary plexus (SCP)

Deep capillary plexus (DCP)

FAZ

Lahme et al. [14]

36 AD and 38 control

NIA-AA

RTVue XR Avanti

No

No

No

Microvascular densities of SCP were significantly lower in AD than controls.

Negative correlation between flow density and Fazekas scale.

No significant difference.

No significant difference.

Jiang et al. [44]

12 AD, 19 MCI, and 21 control

NIA-AA

Zeiss Angioplex

No

Yes

No

Fractal dimensions of SCP were significantly lower in AD than controls.

Fractal dimensions of DCP were significantly lower in AD and MCI than controls.

Fractal dimensions were positively related to MMSE in MCI patients.

Not available.

Bulut et al. [12]

26 AD and 26 control

Clinically (NIA-AA, DSM-IV)

RTVue XR100-2

No

Not available

No

Microvascular densities of SCP were significantly lower in AD than controls.

Correlations were found between MMSE and vascular densities and FAZ.

Not available.

FAZ was significantly enlarged in AD than controls.

Zhang et al. [16]

16 AD/MCI and 16 control

NIA-AA

RTVue XR Avanti

Age-matched

Yes

No

Microvascular densities of SCP were significantly lower in early AD or amnestic type MCI than controls.

Positive correlations between vascular densities of SCP and MoCA.

No significant difference.

Not available.

Zabel et al. [11]

27 AD and 27 control

Clinically (NIA-AA, DSM-IV) and radiologically (PET scan)

RTVue XR Avanti

No

Yes

No

No significant difference.

Microvascular densities of DCP were significantly lower in AD than controls.

FAZ was larger in AD than controls.

Yoon et al. [13]

39 AD, 37 MCI, and 133 control

NIA-AA

Cirrus 5000 Angioplex

Yes

Not available

No

Microvascular densities of SCP were significantly lower in AD than controls and AD vs MCI but not between MCI and controls.

Not available.

No significant difference.

den Haan et al. [37]

48 AD and 48 controls

NIA-AA

Cirrus 5000 Angioplex

Yes

Not available

No

No significant difference.

Not available.

No significant difference.

Wu et al. [15]

18 AD, 21 MCI, and 33 control

AD (NINCDS-ADRDA), MCI (Petersen criteria)

RTVue XR Avanti

No

No

No

No significant difference.

Microvascular densities of DCP were significantly lower in AD and MCI than controls.

FAZ was significantly largest in AD, followed by MCI, and lastly controls.

Current study

24 AD, 37 MCI, and 29 control

AD (DSM-IV), MCI (Petersen criteria)

Cirrus 5000 Angioplex

Yes

Yes

Yes

Microvascular densities of SCP were significantly lower in AD and MCI than controls.

Microvascular densities of DCP were significantly lower in AD than controls.

No significant difference.

  1. AD Alzheimer’s disease, DSM-IV Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, FAZ foveal avascular zone, MCI mild cognitive impairment, OCTA optical coherence tomography angiography, MMSE Mini-Mental State Examination, MoCA Montreal Cognitive Assessment, NIA-AA National Institute of Aging-Alzheimer’s Association, NINCDS-ADRDA National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association