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      Age-Related Alterations in the Retinal Microvasculature, Microcirculation, and Microstructure

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          Abstract

          Purpose

          To characterize age-related alterations in the retinal microcirculation, microvascular network, and microstructure in healthy subjects.

          Methods

          Seventy-four healthy subjects aged from 18 to 82 years were recruited and divided into four age groups (G1 with age <35 years, G2 with age 35 ∼ 49 years, G3 with age 50 ∼ 64 years, and G4 with age ≥65 years). Custom ultra-high resolution optical coherence tomography (UHR-OCT) was used to acquire six intraretinal layers of the macula. OCT angiography (OCTA) was used to image the retinal microvascular network. The retinal blood flow velocity (BFV) was measured using a Retinal Function Imager (RFI).

          Results

          Compared to G1, G2 had significant thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) ( P < 0.05), while G3 had thinning of the RNFL and ganglion cell and inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) ( P < 0.05), in addition to thickening of the outer plexiform layer (OPL) and photoreceptor layer (PR) ( P < 0.05). G4 had loss in retinal vessel density, thinning in RNFL and GCIPL, and decrease in venular BFV, in addition to thickening of the OPL and PR ( P < 0.05). Age was negatively related to retinal vessel densities, the inner retinal layers, and venular BFV ( P < 0.05). By contrast, age was positively related to OPL and PR ( P < 0.05).

          Conclusions

          During aging, decreases in retinal vessel density, inner retinal layer thickness, and venular BFV were evident and impacted each other as observed by simultaneous changes in multiple retinal components.

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          Most cited references46

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          Optical coherence tomography.

          A technique called optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been developed for noninvasive cross-sectional imaging in biological systems. OCT uses low-coherence interferometry to produce a two-dimensional image of optical scattering from internal tissue microstructures in a way that is analogous to ultrasonic pulse-echo imaging. OCT has longitudinal and lateral spatial resolutions of a few micrometers and can detect reflected signals as small as approximately 10(-10) of the incident optical power. Tomographic imaging is demonstrated in vitro in the peripapillary area of the retina and in the coronary artery, two clinically relevant examples that are representative of transparent and turbid media, respectively.
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            Oxygen distribution and consumption within the retina in vascularised and avascular retinas and in animal models of retinal disease.

            Maintenance of an adequate oxygen supply to the retina is critical for retinal function. In species with vascularised retinas, such as man, oxygen is delivered to the retina via a combination of the choroidal vascular bed, which lies immediately behind the retina, and the retinal vasculature, which lies within the inner retina. The high-oxygen demands of the retina, and the relatively sparse nature of the retinal vasculature, are thought to contribute to the particular vulnerability of the retina to vascular disease. A large proportion of retinal blindness is associated with diseases having a vascular component, and disrupted oxygen supply to the retina is likely to be a critical factor. Much attention has therefore been directed at determining the intraretinal oxygen environment in healthy and diseased eyes. Measurements of oxygen levels within the retina have largely been restricted to animal studies in which oxygen sensitive microelectrodes can be used to obtain high-resolution measurements of oxygen tension as a function of retinal depth. Such measurements can immediately identify which retinal layers are supplied with oxygen from the different vascular elements. Additionally, in the outer retinal layers, which do not have any intrinsic oxygen sources, the oxygen distribution can be analysed mathematically to quantify the oxygen consumption rate of specific retinal layers. This has revealed a remarkable heterogeneity of oxygen requirements of different components of the outer retina, with the inner segments of the photoreceptors being the dominant oxygen consumers. Since the presence of the retinal vasculature precludes such a simple quantitative analysis of local oxygen consumption within the inner retina, our understanding of the oxygen needs of the inner retinal components is much less complete. Although several lines of evidence suggest that in the more commonly studied species such as cat, pig, and rat, the oxygen demands of the inner retina as a whole is broadly comparable to that of the outer retina, exactly which cell layers within the inner retina have the most stringent oxygen demands is not known. This may be a critical issue if the cell types most at risk from disrupted oxygen supply are to be identified. This paper reviews our current understanding of the oxygen requirements of the inner and outer retina and presents new data and mathematical models which identify three dominant oxygen-consuming layers in the rat retina. These are the inner segments of the photoreceptors, the outer plexiform layer, and the deeper region of the inner plexiform layer. We also address the intriguing question of how the oxygen requirements of the inner retina are met in those species which naturally have a poorly vascularised, or even totally avascular retina. We present measurements of the intraretinal oxygen distribution in two species of laboratory animal possessing such retinas, the rabbit and the guinea pig. The rabbit has a predominantly avascular retina, with only a narrow band of retinal vasculature, and the guinea pig retina is completely avascular. Both these animals demonstrate species adaptations in which the oxygen requirement of their inner retinas are extremely low when compared to that of their outer retinas. This finding both uncovers a remarkable ability of the inner retina in avascular species to function in a low-oxygen environment, and also highlights the dangers of extrapolating findings from avascular retinas to infer metabolic requirements of vascularised retinas. Different species also demonstrate a marked diversity in the manner in which intraretinal oxygen distribution is influenced by increases in systemic oxygen level. In the vascularised rat retina, the inner retinal oxygen increase is muted by a combination of increased oxygen consumption and a reduction of net oxygen delivery from the retinal circulation. The avascular retina of the guinea pig demonstrated a novel and powerful regulatory mechanism that prevents any dramatic rise in choroidal oxygen levels and keeps retinal oxygen levels within the normal physiological range. In contrast, in the avascular regions of the rabbit retina the choroidal oxygen level passively follows the increase in systemic oxygenation, and there is a dramatic rise in oxygen level in all retinal layers. The presence or absence of oxygen-regulating mechanisms may well reflect important survival strategies for the retina which are not yet understood. Intraretinal oxygen measurements in rat models of retinal disease are also presented. We describe how oxygen distribution across the rat retina is influenced by manipulation of systemic blood pressure. We examine the effect of acute and chronic occlusion of the retinal vasculature, and explore the feasibility of meeting the oxygen needs of the ischemic retina from the choroid. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)
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              Regulation of retinal blood flow in health and disease.

              Optimal retinal neuronal cell function requires an appropriate, tightly regulated environment, provided by cellular barriers, which separate functional compartments, maintain their homeostasis, and control metabolic substrate transport. Correctly regulated hemodynamics and delivery of oxygen and metabolic substrates, as well as intact blood-retinal barriers are necessary requirements for the maintenance of retinal structure and function. Retinal blood flow is autoregulated by the interaction of myogenic and metabolic mechanisms through the release of vasoactive substances by the vascular endothelium and retinal tissue surrounding the arteriolar wall. Autoregulation is achieved by adaptation of the vascular tone of the resistance vessels (arterioles, capillaries) to changes in the perfusion pressure or metabolic needs of the tissue. This adaptation occurs through the interaction of multiple mechanisms affecting the arteriolar smooth muscle cells and capillary pericytes. Mechanical stretch and increases in arteriolar transmural pressure induce the endothelial cells to release contracting factors affecting the tone of arteriolar smooth muscle cells and pericytes. Close interaction between nitric oxide (NO), lactate, arachidonic acid metabolites, released by the neuronal and glial cells during neural activity and energy-generating reactions of the retina strive to optimize blood flow according to the metabolic needs of the tissue. NO, which plays a central role in neurovascular coupling, may exert its effect, by modulating glial cell function involved in such vasomotor responses. During the evolution of ischemic microangiopathies, impairment of structure and function of the retinal neural tissue and endothelium affect the interaction of these metabolic pathways, leading to a disturbed blood flow regulation. The resulting ischemia, tissue hypoxia and alterations in the blood barrier trigger the formation of macular edema and neovascularization. Hypoxia-related VEGF expression correlates with the formation of neovessels. The relief from hypoxia results in arteriolar constriction, decreases the hydrostatic pressure in the capillaries and venules, and relieves endothelial stretching. The reestablished oxygenation of the inner retina downregulates VEGF expression and thus inhibits neovascularization and macular edema. Correct control of the multiple pathways, such as retinal blood flow, tissue oxygenation and metabolic substrate support, aiming at restoring retinal cell metabolic interactions, may be effective in preventing damage occurring during the evolution of ischemic microangiopathies.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci
                Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci
                iovs
                iovs
                IOVS
                Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
                The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
                0146-0404
                1552-5783
                July 2017
                : 58
                : 9
                : 3804-3817
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
                [2 ]Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States
                [3 ]Department of Neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States
                Author notes
                Correspondence: Jianhua Wang, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1638 NW 10th Avenue, McKnight Building - Room 202A, Miami, FL 33136, USA; jwang3@ 123456med.miami.edu .
                Article
                iovs-58-09-24 IOVS-17-21460R1
                10.1167/iovs.17-21460
                5527847
                28744554
                1a24be6b-a6b7-474b-9731-2e3425c95fa1
                Copyright 2017 The Authors

                This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

                History
                : 10 January 2017
                : 21 June 2017
                Categories
                Retina

                age,retina,microcirculation,microvasculature,microstructure
                age, retina, microcirculation, microvasculature, microstructure

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