title: Perifoveal capillary network in patients with acute central retinal vein occlusion.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Reduction of visual acuity in patients with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is often caused by macular edema and ischemia. The major causative factor for macular changes may be a disturbance in the macular microcirculation. The authors studied the perifoveal microcirculation in patients with central retinal vein occlusion to quantify the extent of circulatory deficiency in the macular circulation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four patients (8 men, 16 women) with recently diagnosed CRVO were included in this study. The following data were quantified: mean capillary blood velocity (CBV), foveal avascular zone (FAZ), and mean perifoveal intercapillary area (PIA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In patients with CRVO, the mean flow velocity was significantly reduced compared with healthy subjects (1.63 +/- 0.220 mm/sec vs. 2.89 +/- 0.41 mm/sec, P < 0.01). The FAZ and the mean PIA characterizing capillary density were significantly enlarged in CRVO (5548 +/- 1151 microm2 vs. 3872 +/- 529 microm2; P < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study demonstrates that CRVO not only led to a decrease in capillary blood velocities, but also to an enlargement of perifoveal intercapillary areas in early stages of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Augenklinik der Med. Fakultat. der RWTH Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Remky
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Knabben
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Arend
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reim
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D002196:Capillaries / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005584:Fovea Centralis / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D012170:Retinal Vein Occlusion / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014792:Visual Acuity