title: Retinal microvasculature in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Although cerebral small vessel disease has been implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the cerebral microcirculation is difficult to visualize directly in vivo. As the retina and the brain share similar embryological origin, anatomical features and physiological properties with the cerebral small vessels, the retinal vessels thus offer a unique and easily accessible "window" to study the correlates and consequences of cerebral small vessel diseases in vivo. Retinal microvasculature can now be visualized, quantified and monitored non-invasively using state-of-the-art retinal imaging technology. Recent clinic- and population-based studies have demonstrated a link between retinal vascular changes and dementia, in particular AD, and cerebral small vessel disease. In this review, we summarize the current findings on retinal vascular changes such as retinopathy signs and changes in novel retinal vascular network parameters and retinal vascular caliber with dementia, cognitive dysfunction and cerebral small vessel disease, and discuss possible future research to further evaluate whether retinal vascular imaging might help to elucidate vascular mechanisms contributing to the development of AD and provide additional value in predicting who may be at risk of developing AD.
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore Memory Aging and Cognition Centre, National University Health System, Singapore.
authors.forename: Carol Yim-Lui
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Yi-Ting
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore Memory Aging and Cognition Centre, National University Health System, Singapore.
authors.forename: M Kamran
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Ikram
authors.affiliation: NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore Memory Aging and Cognition Centre, National University Health System, Singapore Department of Pharmacology, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore.
authors.forename: Tien Yin
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; microcirculation; retina; retinal vascular changes; retinal vasculature; small vessel disease