Evaluation of the retinal layers and microvasculature in patients with acromegaly: a case-control OCT angiography study

Abstract

Background The aim of study was to evaluate the retinal layers and macular capillary network with OCTA in acromegaly patients, to compare with healthy population. Methods In this prospective, observational, and comparative study, 40 acromegaly patients and 40 healthy control participants were included. Serum IGF-1 levels and disease duration of all patients were noted. Macular layers and angiography scanning was performed with a Zeiss Cirrus 5000 OCTA system. Macular thickness, RNFL, and GC-IPL values were obtained. For central vessel and perfusion density, central 6 mm was obtained and was evaluated by dividing into three groups (inner, outer, full). FAZ parameters were evaluated dividing into three groups (area, perimeter, circularity index). Analysis of the data was performed with the SPSS for Windows. Results There was no significant difference between the patient group and the control group in terms of age, gender, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), spherical equivalent (SE), intraocular pressure (IOP), and axial length (AL). The mean follow-up period after diagnosis was 11.0 ± 5.5 years. Central and mean macular thicknesses were also significantly higher in the acromegaly group (p < 0.05). Superior, inferior, and average RNFL thicknesses were also significantly thinner in the acromegaly group (p < 0.05). When OCTA parameters were compared between groups, there was a significant decrease in central vessel density (CVD) and central perfusion density (CPD) values in all regions in acromegaly group compared with controls (p < 0.05). Conclusion Our findings with OCTA show that acromegaly causes a significant capillary network decrease according to the healthy subjects.

Normative Data of Superficial Retinal Vascular Plexus and Its Relationship with Retinal Layers

“…Microvascular changes in diabetic retinopathy, retinal venous or arterial occlusion, choroidal neovascularization, and glaucoma have been already demonstrated with OCTA (18). In addition to microvascular changes in apparent retinopathy, subclinical retinal microvascular changes in systemic and ocular diseases and their relationship to retinal thickness have been shown (5,20). The relationship between FAZ area and vascular parameters and CMT has also been investigated in healthy subjects (8,(14)(15)(16)(17)(18).…”

“…OCTA has been shown to be a valuable imaging method to evaluate common ophthalmological diseases, such as non-neovascular and neovascular age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vascular occlusion, central serous chorioretinopathy, and glaucoma (3,4). In addition to significant changes, it is also useful to detect previously unknown subclinical effects of ocular and systemic diseases on the retina and optic nerve vasculature (5)(6)(7). The association between OCTA parameters and ocular and systemic features has been examined previously.…”

Evaluation of Peripapillary Microcirculation in Patients with Acromegaly

“…This may potentially be due to endothelial dysfunction and/or an arterial tonus disorder. In another study, when the eyes of patients with acromegaly were compared to the eyes of control participants in terms of OCTA parameters, significant decreases were found in the central vessel density and central perfusion density values in all regions in the acromegaly group ( 21 ). The aim of the present study was to evaluate ONH VD and RPC VD in patients with acromegaly undergoing surgery for macroadenoma.…”

Association between Axial Length of the Eye and Length of Each Part of the Body

“…It has been speculated that GH does not necessarily cause each part to grow in equal proportions and that there may be sex differences [10]. Recently, AL in a group of acromegaly patients did not show any signi cant difference from the control group [23]. Therefore, it is necessary to consider not only GH, but also other factors.…”