title: Impaired retinal microcirculation in multiple sclerosis.
abstract: The transparent ocular structure enables quantitative analysis of microvasculature of retina, a neuronal tissue affected by multiple sclerosis (MS).
  
  
  
  The aim of this study was to determine whether the retinal blood flow velocity and flow volume at the macula are impaired in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).
  
  
  
  A total of 17 RRMS patients and 17 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects were assessed. A retinal function imager was used to measure the blood flow velocity of retinal arterioles and venules and to calculate the total perifoveal blood flow volume.
  
  
  
  The blood flow velocities of the retinal arterioles (3.34 ± 0.89 mm/s) and venules (2.61 ± 0.6 mm/s) were significantly lower in MS patients than normal subjects (arteriole: 4.10 ± 0.87 mm/s; venule: 3.22 ± 0.65 mm/s, both p = 0.01). In addition, the total perifoveal blood flow volume in arterioles (3.74 ± 1.64 nL/s) and venules (3.81 ± 1.60 nL/s) were significantly lower in MS patients than in normal subjects (arteriole: 4.87 ± 1.41 nL/s, p = 0.02; venule: 4.71 ± 1.64 nL/s, p = 0.04).
  
  
  
  The impaired retinal microcirculation in RRMS patients indicates microvascular dysfunction in MS.
authors.affiliation: Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA/Department of Neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA h.jiang@med.miami.edu.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.affiliation: Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA/Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central-South University, Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Che
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Kottil W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Rammohan
authors.affiliation: Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Delia Cabrera
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: DeBuc
authors.affiliation: Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Byron L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Statistic Division, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Feuer
authors.affiliation: Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D061848:Optical Imaging; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Multiple sclerosis; blood flow velocity; blood flow volume; retinal function imager; retinal microcirculation; retinal nerve fiber layer