Ophthalmology Unit, Neurosciences, Mental Health, and Sense Organs (NESMOS) Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Rome Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
St. Andrea Hospita, Via di Grottarossa 1035/1039, Rome, 00189, Italy.
Eye (Lond). 2023 May;37(7):1365-1370. doi: 10.1038/s41433-022-02134-y. Epub 2022 Jun 23.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyse the role of the choroid in early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by analysing choroidal vascularity index (CVI) in pure cohorts of patients with subretinal drusenoid deposits (SDD) or conventional drusen (CD).
SUBJECTS/METHODS: This was an observational cross-sectional study. Comprehensive ophthalmologic examination and multimodal imaging including fundus photography, autofluorescence, near infrared reflectance, and spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) was performed. CVI processing was performed on a foveal horizontal SDOCT scan with binarization using Image J Image software and calculated as the ratio between luminal area (LA) and total area (TA).
Sixty-nine eyes of 69 participants were included; 23 eyes with SDD alone, 22 eyes with CD alone, and 24 control eyes of healthy age-matched subjects. CVI was significantly reduced in the SDD and CD group compared to controls (p = 0.0001). Post-hoc analysis revealed a significant reduction of CVI in the SDD versus the control group (p = 0.0002), in the CD versus the control group (p = 0.001), and in the SDD versus the CD group (p = 0.006). Covariance analysis showed a significant difference of LA (p = 0.033) but no significant difference of TA (p = 0.106) between the three groups. Direct comparison between CD and SDD showed a significant reduction of LA and TA in the SDD group.
CVI may have prognostic implications in early AMD. SDD is a biomarker of AMD progression and the mechanism for this could be via reduction of the CVI.
背景/目的：本研究旨在通过分析单纯视网膜下类脂沉积（SDD）或传统玻璃膜疣（CD）患者的脉络膜血管指数（CVI），分析脉络膜在年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）早期中的作用。
受试者/方法：这是一项观察性横断面研究。进行全面的眼科检查和多模态成像，包括眼底照相、自发荧光、近红外反射和谱域光相干断层扫描（SDOCT）。使用 Image J Image 软件对黄斑水平 SDOCT 扫描进行二值化处理，并进行 CVI 处理，计算为管腔面积（LA）与总面积（TA）的比值。
纳入 69 名参与者的 69 只眼；23 只眼单纯 SDD，22 只眼单纯 CD，24 只眼为年龄匹配的健康对照眼。与对照组相比，SDD 和 CD 组的 CVI 显著降低（p = 0.0001）。事后分析显示，SDD 组与对照组相比 CVI 显著降低（p = 0.0002），CD 组与对照组相比 CVI 显著降低（p = 0.001），SDD 组与 CD 组相比 CVI 显著降低（p = 0.006）。协方差分析显示 LA 差异有统计学意义（p = 0.033），但 TA 差异无统计学意义（p = 0.106）。CD 与 SDD 直接比较显示 SDD 组 LA 和 TA 显著降低。
CVI 可能对 AMD 早期有预后意义。SDD 是 AMD 进展的生物标志物，其机制可能是 CVI 的降低。
