Intraretinal Cysts as a Manifestation of Retinal Angiomatous Proliferation in Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography.

Background and Objectives: Intraretinal cysts are common pathology observed inspectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) in patients with neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The aim of the study was to determine if the presence of intraretinal cysts is positively correlated with diagnosis of retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP) in optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Material and Methods: A total of 21 eyes with intraretinal cysts in SDOCT exam (Group1) and 21 eyes with subretinal fluid(Group 2) were enrolled into the study. In each eye, the presence of intraretinal neovascularization (IRN) and chorioretinal anastomosis (CRA) was evaluated in OCTA by two experienced graders. Results: IRN was observed in 20 eyes (95.2%) from Group 1 and 5 eyes (23.8%) from Group 2. Features of CRA were found in 18 eyes (80.95%) and 16 eyes (76.2%) respectively for Group 1 and 2. Patients with cysts are 50 (95% CI: 5.43−460.52) times more likely to have IRN (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The presence of intraretinal cysts on SDOCT retinal sections in eyes with neovascular AMD corresponds to the presence of IRN on OCTA examination. The results indicate that the absence of a cyst does not exclude the presence of IRN and CRA which can be identified on OCTA.

Quantitative assessment of retinal thickness and vessel density using optical coherence tomography angiography in patients with Alzheimer's disease and glaucoma.

PURPOSE: Assessment and a direct comparison of retinal vessel density with the thickness of inner retinal layer (IRL) and outer retinal layer (ORL) in the same regions of the macula in subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). METHODS: We analyzed data from 48 eyes of healthy control (HC) participants, 71 eyes with POAG, and 49 eyes of AD patients. Ophthalmic examination included optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging to measure IRL and ORL thickness and OCT angiography (OCTA) in the same region for the imaging of vessel density in the superficial vascular plexus (SVP) and deep vascular plexus (DVP) of the retina. A direct comparison of vessel density and retinal layers thickness, which different dynamic ranges, was obtained by normalizing values as percentage losses. RESULTS: Patients with AD presented significantly greater losses of vascular density in the DVP and ORL thickness compared to POAG (p <0.001), but percentage losses of vessel density in SVP and IRL thickness were considerable in POAG compared to AD eyes (p<0.001). Positive associations among presence of AD were observed primarily in outer retina where a 1% decrease of ORL thickness was associated with about 24-29% increase in odds of the presence of AD. According to OCTA measurements, a 1% decrease of vessel density in DVP was positively associated with a 4-9% increase in odds of the presence of AD. In POAG positive associations among presence of disease were observed only in inner retina where 1% loss of IRL thickness and a 1% loss of vessel density in the SVP were positively associated with a 13-23% increase in risk of presence of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of ORL thickness and vessel density in DVP could potentially improve diagnostic capabilities and may provide a valuable approach for predicting of AD.