Age-dependent Changes in the Macular Choriocapillaris of Normal Eyes Imaged With Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

• Published in: American journal of ophthalmology Vol. 200; pp. 110 - 122
• Main Authors: Zheng, Fang, Zhang, Qinqin, Shi, Yingying, Russell, Jonathan F., Motulsky, Elie H., Banta, James T., Chu, Zhongdi, Zhou, Hao, Patel, Nimesh A., de Sisternes, Luis, Durbin, Mary K., Feuer, William, Gregori, Giovanni, Wang, Ruikang, Rosenfeld, Philip J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.04.2019; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adult; Age groups; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Aging - physiology; Atrophy; Axial Length, Eye - anatomy & histology; Choroid - blood supply; Choroid - diagnostic imaging; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetic retinopathy; Disease; FDA approval; Female; Healthy Volunteers; Human subjects; Humans; Hypertension; Macula Lutea - blood supply; Macular degeneration; Male; Medical imaging; Middle Aged; Normal Distribution; Ophthalmology; Prospective Studies; Regional Blood Flow - physiology; Researchers; Retina - physiology; Retinal Pigment Epithelium - physiology; Tomography; Tomography, Optical Coherence - methods; Visual Acuity; Young Adult; United States > US
• ISSN: 0002-9394; 1879-1891; 1879-1891
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajo.2018.12.025

Swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) was used to measure the age-dependent changes in macular choriocapillaris (CC) flow deficits (FDs) in normal eyes. A prospective, cross-sectional study. Subjects with normal eyes ranging in age from their 20s to their 80s were imaged using a 100-kHz SS-OCTA instrument (PLEX Elite 9000, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, California, USA). Both 3 × 3-mm and 6 × 6-mm scans were used to image the macular CC. Visualization of the CC and quantification of FDs were performed using a previously validated algorithm. The percentage of FDs (FD%) in the central 1-mm circle (C1), 1.5-mm rim (R1.5), and 2.5-mm circle (C2.5) from the 3 × 3-mm and 6 × 6-mm scans and FD% in the 2.5-mm rim (R2.5) and 5-mm circle (C5) from the 6 × 6-mm scans were measured and correlated with age and axial length. A total of 164 subjects were enrolled, with at least 10 subjects from each decade of life. No meaningful correlations were found between FD% and axial length (|r| < 0.30). FD% in all fields increased with increasing age (all r > 0.50; all P < .001); however, the greatest increases were found in the central macula C1 regions and the smallest increases in the peripheral macula R2.5 regions. In normal aging, the FD% increased with age across the central 5 mm of the macula, but the greatest increase was found in the central 1-mm region of the macula.