Relationship between Cognitive Impairments and Changes in Retinal Neuroartchitectonics

Objective. To assess the relationship between cognitive deficit and retinal neuroarchitectonics in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), vascular dementia (VD), and glaucoma using optical coherence tomography. Materials and methods. A complex study of 90 patients with AD, VD, and glaucoma was undertaken. Patients were divided into three groups, each of 30 patients. Groups were comparable in terms of sex, age, and initial socioeconomic status. All patients underwent complex neurological and neuropsychological investigations, along with optical coherence tomography. Results and conclusions. Optical coherence tomography results in AD and glaucoma showed changes to the retina in the peripheral area in the upper and lower quadrants, while in VD these changes were seen in the foveal (central) area of the retina, which can be regarded as a potential biomarker for neurodegenerative lesions. The severity of cognitive deficit in the AD group correlated with the extent of degeneration in the peripapillary layer of retinal nerve fibers in the temporal area, the perifoveal area of the inferior quadrant of the retina, ganglion cells, and the inner plexiform layer. In the VD group, the more marked the cognitive deficit, the greater the level of cell degeneration in the foveal area of the inner plexiform layer of the retina.