Retinal vascular changes in persons with cerebral small vessel disease

Kandela KT, Varghese CP, Chacko F, Mathai MT

Pdf Page Numbers :- 77-81

Krishna Teja Kandela¹, Prasanth Varghese C^1,*, Fiju Chacko¹ and Monsy Thomas Mathai²

¹Department of Neurology, Jubilee Mission Medical College & research Institute, Thrissur, Kerala - 680005, India

²Department of Ophthalmology, Jubilee Mission Medical College & Research Institute, Thrissur, Kerala - 680005, India

*Corresponding author: Dr. Prasanth Varghese C, Asst. Professor, Department of Neurology, Jubilee Mission Medical College & Research Institute, Thrissur, Kerala - 680005, India. Email: prasanthneuro@gmail.com

Received 13 September 2023; Revised 6 November 2023; Accepted 13 November 2023; Published 22 November 2023

Citation: Kandela KT, Varghese CP, Chacko F, Mathai MT. Retinal vascular changes in persons with cerebral small vessel disease. J Med Sci Res. 2024; 12(1):77-81. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17727/JMSR.2024/12-14

Copyright: © 2024 Kandela KT et al. Published by KIMS Foundation and Research Center. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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Abstract

The retinal and cerebral microvasculature share many morphological and physiological properties, Hence, it is thought that studying these retinal vessels will provide a direct measure to evaluate the vascular and neuronal status of the brain. In the present study, we aimed to study retinal vasculature by fundus examination in persons identified to have cerebral small vessel disease on MRI brain and an attempt to correlate the retinal vascular changes with the degree of MRI brain changes. A case control study was conducted in the department of Neurology, Jubilee Mission Medical College & Research Institute. A total of 180 patients, included 90 patients for case group (Cerebral small vessel disease on MRI brain) and 90 patients for control group (no cerebral small vessel disease on MRI brain) reporting to the neurology department were included in the study. Cerebral small vessel disease was identified and classified/graded as per the modified Fazeka Scale. Ophthalmoscopic examination was done using fundus camera with the help of the ophthalmologist. Results were expressed in percentages and the data obtained was analysed using standard analytical techniques using SPSS software. Majority of cases and controls were in the age group of 61-70 years. Majority of the cases were males 55 (61.1%). Majority of the controls were females 51 (56.7%). 42 (46.7%) cases and 34 (37.8%) controls were hypertensives. Cases with CSVD had a statistically significant association with arteriolar narrowing, AV crossing changes and optic disc edema when compared to controls. Retinal vascular changes were associated with increased cerebral vascular events. These associations persist after accounting for confounding variables known to be disease causing in both circulations.

Keywords: retinal vascular; cerebral small vessel disease; cerebral arterioles