Table 4.
Optical coherence tomography angiography studies on individuals 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. |
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