title: Choroid morphometric analysis in non-neovascular age-related macular degeneration by means of optical coherence tomography angiography.
abstract: To describe the vascular changes in patients affected by non-neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), featuring reticular pseudodrusen (RPD), drusen, or both RPD and drusen by means of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A).
  
  
  
  Cross-sectional observational case series. Patients with non-neovascular AMD presenting at the Medical Retina Service of the Department of Ophthalmology, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan were recruited. Patients underwent best-corrected visual acuity, biomicroscopy, infrared reflectance, short-wavelength fundus autofluorescence and OCT-A (AngioPlex, CIRRUS HD-OCT 5000, Carl Zeiss Meditech, Dublin, USA). Main outcome was quantification of vessel density, stromal tissue, and vascular/stromal (V/S) ratio at the choriocapillaris (CC), the Sattler and Haller's and the whole choroid layers among different groups of patients with non-neovascular AMD by means of binarised OCT-A scans.
  
  
  
  45 eyes of 34 patients were enrolled (15 eyes of 11 patients with RPD, group 1; 15 eyes of 11 patients with drusen, group 2; 15 eyes of 12 patients with mixed phenotype, group 3). The CC, the Sattler and Haller's and the whole choroid vessel density were reduced in all groups of patients (p=0.023, p=0.007 and p=0.011 in group 1, group 2 and group 3 for the CC; p=0.021, p=0.037 and p=0.043 in group 1, group 2 and group 3 for the Sattler and Haller's density; p=0.016, p=0.002 and p<0.001 in group 1, group 2 and group 3 for the choroidal density), with significantly lower V/S ratios compared with healthy controls.
  
  
  
  Patients with non-neovascular AMD show significant choroidal vascular depletion and fibrotic replacement, suggesting a possible role in the pathogenesis and progression of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University Vita-Salute, Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Vittoria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Cicinelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University Vita-Salute, Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rabiolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University Vita-Salute, Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marchese
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University Vita-Salute, Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3778-8666
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de Vitis
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy.
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carnevali
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University Vita-Salute, Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Lea
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Querques
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University Vita-Salute, Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bandello
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University Vita-Salute, Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Querques
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002829:Choroid / Q000098:blood supply*; D015862:Choroid Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000072226:Computed Tomography Angiography; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D061848:Optical Imaging; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015593:Retinal Drusen / Q000473:pathology*; D055213:Retinal Pigment Epithelium / Q000473:pathology*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence
keywords: Imaging; Macula; Retina