AUTHOR=Zhang Shuting , Kwapong William Robert , Yang Tang , Liu Peng , Tuo Qingzhang , Cheng Yajun , Li Xue , Liu Ming , Lei Peng , Wu Bo
TITLE=Choriocapillaris Changes Are Correlated With Disease Duration and MoCA Score in Early-Onset Dementia
JOURNAL=Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
VOLUME=13
YEAR=2021
URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/aging-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2021.656750
DOI=10.3389/fnagi.2021.656750
ISSN=1663-4365
ABSTRACT=Purpose: Imaging of the choroid may detect the microvascular changes associated with early-onset dementia (EOD) and may represent an indicator for detection of the disease. We aimed to analyze the in vivo choriocapillaris (CC) flow density in EOD patients using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and evaluate the association with its clinical measures.
Methods: This cross-sectional study used the OCTA to image and analyze the choriocapillaris (CC) of 25 EOD patients and 20 healthy controls. Choriocapillaris flow density in the 3 mm area and 6 mm area was measured by an inbuilt algorithm in the OCT tool. Brain volume using magnetic resonance imaging and cognitive assessment was done and recorded.
Results: Significantly reduced capillary flow density of the choriocapillaris was seen in EOD patients when compared to healthy controls in the 3.0 mm (P = 0.001) and 6.0 mm (P < 0.001) area respectively. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores in EOD patients positively correlated with choriocapillaris flow density in the 3 mm area (Rho = 0.466, P = 0.021). Disease duration of EOD patients also negatively correlated with choriocapillaris density in the 3 mm area (Rho = −0.497, P = 0.008).
Discussion: Our report suggests that choriocapillaris damage may be a potential indicator of early-onset dementia. Microvascular impairment may be involved in the early phase of dementia without aging playing a role in its impairment.
Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, ChiCTR2000041386.