Investigation of retinal microcirculation alterations following carotid artery angioplasty and stenting using optical coherence tomography angiography

BackgroundCarotid artery stenosis (CAS) is a common vascular condition that can impair retinal and optic nerve blood supply, leading to ocular ischemic damage. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) provides a non-invasive method to evaluate retinal microcirculation and detect vascular chan...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zehui Shi, Chunqiong Dong, Hanfei Tang, Daqiao Guo, Xianglian Li, Bing Xie, Xiao Tang, Xiuping Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Neuroscience
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1557062/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850027531260919808
author Zehui Shi
Chunqiong Dong
Hanfei Tang
Hanfei Tang
Daqiao Guo
Daqiao Guo
Xianglian Li
Bing Xie
Xiao Tang
Xiao Tang
Xiuping Chen
author_facet Zehui Shi
Chunqiong Dong
Hanfei Tang
Hanfei Tang
Daqiao Guo
Daqiao Guo
Xianglian Li
Bing Xie
Xiao Tang
Xiao Tang
Xiuping Chen
author_sort Zehui Shi
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundCarotid artery stenosis (CAS) is a common vascular condition that can impair retinal and optic nerve blood supply, leading to ocular ischemic damage. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) provides a non-invasive method to evaluate retinal microcirculation and detect vascular changes in CAS patients.MethodsThis study utilized OCTA to evaluate changes in retinal microcirculation in CAS patients before and after carotid artery angioplasty and stenting. A 6 × 6 mm OCTA scan was performed to analyze deep retinal vascular complex (DVC) blood flow density, foveal avascular zone area (FAZA), foveal density within a 300 μm-wide ring surrounding the FAZ (FD-300), and radial peripapillary capillary vessel density (RPC-VD). Additionally, ultra-wide-field OCTA imaging (24 × 20 mm) was employed to comprehensively assess perfusion in both the posterior pole and peripheral retina.ResultsFollowing carotid artery angioplasty and stenting, significant improvements were observed in the ipsilateral eye, including increased macular blood flow density (p = 0.004), FD-300 (p = 0.031), RPC-VD (p = 0.028) and decreased FAZA (p = 0.018) in the deep retinal vascular layer, indicating enhanced retinal microcirculation. No statistically significant changes were found in the contralateral eye. In some cases, ultra-wide-field OCTA revealed a reduction in macular non-perfusion areas in the ipsilateral eye, alongside an increase in non-perfusion areas near the vascular arcades.ConclusionCarotid artery angioplasty and stenting effectively improves retinal microcirculation in CAS patients, as evidenced by increased blood flow density and reduced non-perfusion areas in the ipsilateral eye. OCTA is a valuable non-invasive tool for assessing retinal circulation dynamics, identifying microvascular abnormalities, and monitoring treatment efficacy in CAS patients.
format Article
id doaj-art-c8b79bd63e834b2b89c09dfbf6f90d5f
institution DOAJ
issn 1662-453X
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Neuroscience
spelling doaj-art-c8b79bd63e834b2b89c09dfbf6f90d5f2025-08-20T03:00:08ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2025-03-011910.3389/fnins.2025.15570621557062Investigation of retinal microcirculation alterations following carotid artery angioplasty and stenting using optical coherence tomography angiographyZehui Shi0Chunqiong Dong1Hanfei Tang2Hanfei Tang3Daqiao Guo4Daqiao Guo5Xianglian Li6Bing Xie7Xiao Tang8Xiao Tang9Xiuping Chen10Department of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Vascular Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaInstitute of Vascular Surgery, Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Vascular Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaInstitute of Vascular Surgery, Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Vascular Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaInstitute of Vascular Surgery, Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaBackgroundCarotid artery stenosis (CAS) is a common vascular condition that can impair retinal and optic nerve blood supply, leading to ocular ischemic damage. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) provides a non-invasive method to evaluate retinal microcirculation and detect vascular changes in CAS patients.MethodsThis study utilized OCTA to evaluate changes in retinal microcirculation in CAS patients before and after carotid artery angioplasty and stenting. A 6 × 6 mm OCTA scan was performed to analyze deep retinal vascular complex (DVC) blood flow density, foveal avascular zone area (FAZA), foveal density within a 300 μm-wide ring surrounding the FAZ (FD-300), and radial peripapillary capillary vessel density (RPC-VD). Additionally, ultra-wide-field OCTA imaging (24 × 20 mm) was employed to comprehensively assess perfusion in both the posterior pole and peripheral retina.ResultsFollowing carotid artery angioplasty and stenting, significant improvements were observed in the ipsilateral eye, including increased macular blood flow density (p = 0.004), FD-300 (p = 0.031), RPC-VD (p = 0.028) and decreased FAZA (p = 0.018) in the deep retinal vascular layer, indicating enhanced retinal microcirculation. No statistically significant changes were found in the contralateral eye. In some cases, ultra-wide-field OCTA revealed a reduction in macular non-perfusion areas in the ipsilateral eye, alongside an increase in non-perfusion areas near the vascular arcades.ConclusionCarotid artery angioplasty and stenting effectively improves retinal microcirculation in CAS patients, as evidenced by increased blood flow density and reduced non-perfusion areas in the ipsilateral eye. OCTA is a valuable non-invasive tool for assessing retinal circulation dynamics, identifying microvascular abnormalities, and monitoring treatment efficacy in CAS patients.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1557062/fulloptical coherence tomography angiographycarotid artery stenosiscarotid artery angioplasty and stentingvascular densityretinal microcirculation
spellingShingle Zehui Shi
Chunqiong Dong
Hanfei Tang
Hanfei Tang
Daqiao Guo
Daqiao Guo
Xianglian Li
Bing Xie
Xiao Tang
Xiao Tang
Xiuping Chen
Investigation of retinal microcirculation alterations following carotid artery angioplasty and stenting using optical coherence tomography angiography
Frontiers in Neuroscience
optical coherence tomography angiography
carotid artery stenosis
carotid artery angioplasty and stenting
vascular density
retinal microcirculation
title Investigation of retinal microcirculation alterations following carotid artery angioplasty and stenting using optical coherence tomography angiography
title_full Investigation of retinal microcirculation alterations following carotid artery angioplasty and stenting using optical coherence tomography angiography
title_fullStr Investigation of retinal microcirculation alterations following carotid artery angioplasty and stenting using optical coherence tomography angiography
title_full_unstemmed Investigation of retinal microcirculation alterations following carotid artery angioplasty and stenting using optical coherence tomography angiography
title_short Investigation of retinal microcirculation alterations following carotid artery angioplasty and stenting using optical coherence tomography angiography
title_sort investigation of retinal microcirculation alterations following carotid artery angioplasty and stenting using optical coherence tomography angiography
topic optical coherence tomography angiography
carotid artery stenosis
carotid artery angioplasty and stenting
vascular density
retinal microcirculation
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1557062/full
work_keys_str_mv AT zehuishi investigationofretinalmicrocirculationalterationsfollowingcarotidarteryangioplastyandstentingusingopticalcoherencetomographyangiography
AT chunqiongdong investigationofretinalmicrocirculationalterationsfollowingcarotidarteryangioplastyandstentingusingopticalcoherencetomographyangiography
AT hanfeitang investigationofretinalmicrocirculationalterationsfollowingcarotidarteryangioplastyandstentingusingopticalcoherencetomographyangiography
AT hanfeitang investigationofretinalmicrocirculationalterationsfollowingcarotidarteryangioplastyandstentingusingopticalcoherencetomographyangiography
AT daqiaoguo investigationofretinalmicrocirculationalterationsfollowingcarotidarteryangioplastyandstentingusingopticalcoherencetomographyangiography
AT daqiaoguo investigationofretinalmicrocirculationalterationsfollowingcarotidarteryangioplastyandstentingusingopticalcoherencetomographyangiography
AT xianglianli investigationofretinalmicrocirculationalterationsfollowingcarotidarteryangioplastyandstentingusingopticalcoherencetomographyangiography
AT bingxie investigationofretinalmicrocirculationalterationsfollowingcarotidarteryangioplastyandstentingusingopticalcoherencetomographyangiography
AT xiaotang investigationofretinalmicrocirculationalterationsfollowingcarotidarteryangioplastyandstentingusingopticalcoherencetomographyangiography
AT xiaotang investigationofretinalmicrocirculationalterationsfollowingcarotidarteryangioplastyandstentingusingopticalcoherencetomographyangiography
AT xiupingchen investigationofretinalmicrocirculationalterationsfollowingcarotidarteryangioplastyandstentingusingopticalcoherencetomographyangiography