AUTHOR=Fu Wang , Zhou Xiaoyu , Wang Minli , Li Ping , Hou Jingjing , Gao Peng , Wang Jue 

TITLE=Fundus Changes Evaluated by OCTA in Patients With Cerebral Small Vessel Disease and Their Correlations: A Cross-Sectional Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.843198

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2022.843198

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=Objective: To reveal the fundus changes in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) utilizing optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and to investigate their correlations.
Method: From January 2019 to January 2020, patients diagnosed with CSVD by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were enrolled in our study and received fundus examinations using OCTA. CSVD was defined as white matter hyperintensities (WMH), enlarged perivascular spaces (PVS), lacunes, or microbleeds in MR imaging. OCTA parameters included foveal avascular zone (FAZ) areas, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, capillary densities of the superficial retinal capillary plexuses (SRCP), deep retinal capillary plexuses (DRCP), and the radial peripapillary capillary (RPC) network of the disc. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to explore the correlation between CSVD and fundus changes.
Result: A total of 115 patients (40% male) were enrolled and analyzed, with the mean age of 65.11 ± 11.23 years. After multivariate logistic regression analysis, RPC network density was negatively correlated with severity of deep white matter lesions (DWMLs) (OR: 0.909; 95% CI: 0.828-0.998; p = 0.046) and PVS (OR: 0.881; 95% CI: 0.779-0.995; p = 0.041). Parafoveal vessel densities of the SRCP was independently correlated with lacunes (OR:0.889; 95% CI: 0.817-0.967; p = 0.006). 
Conclusions: OCTA parameters were correlated with CSVD, implying OCTA as a potential method for screening of CSVD.