Modulation of retinal arteriolar central reflection by APOE genotype
Authors
Shaun M. Frost
Alauddin Bhuiyan
David Offerman
James D. Doecke
Stuart L. Macaulay
Hamid R. Sohrabi, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
David J. Ames
Colin L. Masters
Ralph N. Martins, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Yogesan Kanagasingam
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Current Alzheimer Research
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd
Place of Publication
Netherlands
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences / Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Care
RAS ID
27001
Abstract
Objective: This study investigated the retinal arteriolar central reflex (CR, the central reflection observed in photographs of retinal vessels), which may provide information about micro-vascular health in the retina and also the brain, due to the homology between these vascular networks. The study also describes a novel computer based semi-automated technique that accurately quantifies retinal arteriolar CR and vessel width, and calculates the CR to vessel width ratio (CRR) from digital retinal photographs. Methods: Digital retinal photographs were collected from participants in the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle study of ageing (AIBL), including 25 participants diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (age 72.4 ± 7.5 yrs, 12 male, 13 female) and 123 elderly participants without dementia (cognitively normals: CN) (age 71.6 ± 5.6 yrs, 55 male, 68 female). Using a sub-cohort of 144 (22 AD, 122 CN) with the novel CRR measures, we identified significantly higher CRR levels in AD participants (mean CRR 0.253 (SD 0.04)) as compared with CN’s (mean CRR 0.231 (SD 0.04), p = 0.025). Adjustment for APOE ε4 allele status however, reduced the significance (p = 0.081). CRR was significantly higher in APOE ε4 allele carriers (mean CRR 0.254 (SD 0.03) as compared with non-carriers (mean CRR 0.224 (SD 0.05), p < 0.0001). Results: These data indicate that CRR is strongly linked to APOE ε4 status and exhibits a weaker, independent trend with AD diagnosis. The retina may be useful as a novel model for non-invasive monitoring of the effects of APOE ε4 on the central nervous system, particularly in cerebrovascular disease.
DOI
10.2174/1567205014666170309115016
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Frost, S., Bhuiyan, A., Offerman, D., Doecke, J. D., Macaulay, S. L., Sohrabi, H. R., ... Aibl Research Group. (2017). Modulation of Retinal Arteriolar Central Reflection by APOE genotype. Current Alzheimer Research. 14(9), 916-923. Available here.