Significance: As one part of the central nervous system, the retina manifests neurovascular defects in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Quantitative imaging of retinal neurovascular abnormalities may promise a new method for early diagnosis and treatment assessment of AD. Previous imaging studies of transgenic AD mouse models have been limited to the central part of the retina. Given that the pathological hallmarks of AD frequently appear in different peripheral quadrants, a comprehensive regional investigation is needed for a better understanding of the retinal degeneration associated with AD-like pathology. Aim: We aim to demonstrate concurrent optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) of retinal neuronal and vascular abnormalities in the 5XFAD mouse model and to investigate region-specific retinal degeneration. Approach: A custom-built OCT system was used for retinal imaging. Retinal thickness, vessel width, and vessel density were quantitatively measured. The artery and vein (AV) were classified for differential AV analysis, and trilaminar vascular plexuses were segmented for depth-resolved density measurement. Results: It was observed that inner and outer retinal thicknesses were explicitly reduced in the dorsal and temporal quadrants, respectively, in 5XFAD mice. A significant arterial narrowing in 5XFAD mice was also observed. Moreover, overall capillary density consistently showed a decreasing trend in 5XFAD mice, but regional specificity was not identified. Conclusions: Quadrant- and layer-specific neurovascular degeneration was observed in 5XFAD mice. Concurrent OCT and OCTA promise a noninvasive method for quantitative monitoring of AD progression and treatment assessment.

中文翻译：

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5XFAD 阿尔茨海默病小鼠视网膜神经血管变性的同步 OCT 和 OCT 血管造影


意义：视网膜作为中枢神经系统的一部分，在阿尔茨海默病（AD）中表现出神经血管缺陷。视网膜神经血管异常的定量成像可能为 AD 的早期诊断和治疗评估提供一种新方法。此前对转基因AD小鼠模型的成像研究仅限于视网膜中央部分。鉴于 AD 的病理特征经常出现在不同的周边象限，因此需要进行全面的区域调查，以更好地了解与 AD 样病理相关的视网膜变性。目的：我们旨在展示 5XFAD 小鼠模型中视网膜神经元和血管异常的同步光学相干断层扫描 (OCT) 和 OCT 血管造影 (OCTA)，并研究区域特异性视网膜变性。方法：使用定制的 OCT 系统进行视网膜成像。定量测量视网膜厚度、血管宽度和血管密度。对动脉和静脉 (AV) 进行分类以进行差分 AV 分析，并对三层血管丛进行分段以进行深度分辨密度测量。结果：观察到 5XFAD 小鼠的背侧和颞侧象限的内层和外层视网膜厚度分别明显减少。还观察到 5XFAD 小鼠的动脉显着变窄。此外，5XFAD 小鼠的总体毛细血管密度始终呈下降趋势，但未确定区域特异性。结论：在 5XFAD 小鼠中观察到象限和层特异性神经血管变性。并行 OCT 和 OCTA 有望成为定量监测 AD 进展和治疗评估的无创方法。