Retinal vascular density in multiple sclerosis: a 1-year follow-up

Abstract

Background and purpose: Vascular pathology is increasingly acknowledged as a risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS). Vascular density (VD) is reduced in the eyes of patients with MS on optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography. We performed a 1-year prospective study to estimate VD variations over time and possible clinical correlates. Methods: A total of 50 patients with MS underwent spectral domain-OCT and OCT angiography at baseline and after 1-year follow-up. Mixed-effect linear regression models were used to assess variations of each OCT measure and its relation to treatment and clinical outcomes. Results: We observed an increase in parafovea VD (coefficient, 1.147; 95% confidence interval, 0.081–2.214; P = 0.035). Reduction in parafovea VD was associated with increase in Expanded Disability Status Scale score (coefficient, −0.969; 95% confidence interval, −1.732/−0.207; P = 0.013). Conclusions: Retinal VD can improve over time in MS, particularly in patients experiencing disease stability. Longer follow-up, inclusion of early MS cases and combination with conventional markers of MS severity (i.e. brain atrophy) are needed to better define VD as a potential new biomarker.