Purpose: To detect the retinal microvascular impairment using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and find a correlation between the microvascular impairment and the neuronal damage. Methods: This is a prospective, observational study including 49 eyes from 38 PD patients in their early stages and 34 eyes from 28 healthy controls with comparable age range. Macula microvasculature was evaluated with the spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) angiography and intraretinal layer thickness evaluated with the SD-OCT. A custom algorithm was used for custom segmentation of retinal thickness and quantification of the superficial and deep microvascular density of the macula, respectively. Results: PD patients showed reduced microvascular density in most of the areas of the whole retina. In the superficial retinal capillary plexus, statistical difference (P < 0.01) was seen in the total annular zone (TAZ), superior, temporal, inferior, and nasal zones. In PD patients, there was a strong correlation between the average ganglion cell layer and inner plexiform (GCIP) thickness and the TAZ of the superficial microvascular density (r = 0.062, P = 0.032). Conclusion: We demonstrated that retinal microvascular density decreased in PD patients. The correlation between microvascular impairment in the superficial retinal capillary layer and GCIP thinning also revealed that the retinal microvascular abnormality may contribute to the neurodegeneration in PD patients. OCT-A with quantitative analysis offers a new path of study and will likely be useful in the future as an objective biomarker for detecting vessel impairment in early stages of PD.

Purpose: To characterize retinal capillary complexity by optical coherence tomography angiography in Parkinson disease. Method: Twenty-five Parkinson disease patients and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were recruited. Optical coherence tomography angiography and optical coherence tomography imaged the superficial and deep retinal capillary plexuses and retinal structure. Retinal capillary skeleton density, retinal capillary perfusion density, and fractal dimension analysis of retinal capillary complexity were performed in the total annular zone and quadrant sectors. The thickness of retinal nerve fiber layer, ganglion cell layer and inner plexiform layer, and total retinal thickness were extracted from retinal structural images. Relationships among the retinal capillaries, retinal structure, and clinical parameters were analyzed. Results: The superficial retinal capillary plexus in Parkinson disease patients had lower retinal capillary skeleton and perfusion densities and capillary complexity in the total annular zone and all quadrant sectors compared with healthy control subjects. The deep retinal capillary plexus retinal capillary complexity was decreased in the total annular zone and the superior and inferior quadrants. The retinal capillary complexity in the inferior quadrant was negatively correlated with the best-corrected visual acuity and disease duration (r = −0.61, r = −0.43, respectively, both P < 0.05). Conclusion: As determined by fractal analysis, retinal capillary complexity can be an objective biomarker in Parkinson disease.

BACKGROUND: Matrix-remodeling associated 5 (MXRA5) has recently been one of the frequently mutated gene but its role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To identify whether MXRA5 could be applied as a novel prognostic m

Background: Retinal ischemic perivascular lesions (RIPLs) are an indicator of ischemia in the middle retina. We aimed to determine the relationship between RIPLs and single subcortical infarction (SSI). We also investigated the differences in cerebral small vessel disease imaging burden between groups with and without RIPLs in SSI. Methods and Results: In this case–control study, we enrolled 82 patients with SSI and 72 nonstroke controls. All participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging and swept‐source optical coherence tomography/optical coherence tomography angiography. Small vessel disease markers such as lacunes, cerebral microbleeds, white matter hyperintensity, and perivascular spaces were rated on brain imaging. RIPLs were assessed via swept‐source optical coherence tomography. Optical coherence tomography angiography was used to measure the superficial vascular complex and deep vascular complex of the retina. After adjusting for risk factors, the presence of RIPLs was significantly associated with SSI (odds ratio [OR], 1.506 [95% CI, 1.365–1.662], P <0.001). Eyes with RIPLs showed lower deep vascular complex density ( P =0.035) compared with eyes without RIPLs in patients with SSI. After adjusting for vascular risk factors, the presence of RIPLs in patients with SSI was associated with an increased periventricular white matter hyperintensity burden (β=0.414 [95% CI, 0.181–0.647], P <0.001) and perivascular spaces‐basal ganglia (β=0.296 [95% CI, 0.079–0.512], P =0.008). Conclusions: RIPLs are associated with SSI independent of underlying risk factors. The relationship between the presence of RIPLs and small vessel disease markers provides evidence that RIPLs might be an additional indicator of cerebral ischemic changes.

Background: The retina and brain share similar neuronal and microvascular features. We aimed to investigate the retinal thickness and microvasculature in patients with thalamic infarcts compared with control participants. Material and methods: Swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) was used to image the macular thickness (retinal nerve fiber layer, RNFL; ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer, GCIP), while OCT angiography was used to image the microvasculature (superficial vascular plexus, SVP; intermediate capillary plexus, ICP; deep capillary plexus, DCP). Inbuilt software was used to measure the macular thickness (µm) and microvascular density (%). Lesion volumes were quantitively assessed based on structural magnetic resonance images. Results: A total of 35 patients with unilateral thalamic infarction and 31 age–sex-matched controls were enrolled. Compared with control participants, thalamic infarction patients showed a significantly thinner thickness of RNFL (p < 0.01) and GCIP (p = 0.02), and a lower density of SVP (p = 0.001) and ICP (p = 0.022). In the group of patients, ipsilateral eyes showed significant reductions in SVP (p = 0.033), RNFL (p = 0.01) and GCIP (p = 0.043). When divided into three groups based on disease duration (6 months), no significant differences were found among these groups. After adjusting for confounders, SVP, ICP, DCP, RNFL, and GCIP were significantly correlated with lesion volume in patients. Conclusions: Thalamic infarction patients showed significant macular structure and microvasculature changes. Lesion size was significantly correlated with these alterations. These findings may be useful for further research into the clinical utility of retinal imaging in stroke patients, especially those with damage to the visual pathway.