The application of retinal fundus camera imaging in dementia: A systematic review. Link to paper on ClinicalKey. Authors McGrory S, Cameron JR, Pellegrini E, Warren C, Doubal FN, Deary IJ, Dhillon B, Wardlaw JM, Trucco E, MacGillivray TJ Abstract Introduction The ease of imaging the retinal vasculature, and the evolving evidence suggesting this microvascular bed might reflect the cerebral microvasculature, presents an opportunity to investigate cerebrovascular disease and the contribution of microvascular disease to dementia with fundus camera imaging. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out to assess the measurement of retinal properties in dementia using fundus imaging. Results Ten studies assessing retinal properties in dementia were included. Quantitative measurement revealed significant yet inconsistent pathologic changes in vessel caliber, tortuosity, and fractal dimension. Retinopathy was more prevalent in dementia. No association of age-related macular degeneration with dementia was reported. Conclusion Inconsistent findings across studies provide tentative support for the application of fundus camera imaging as a means of identifying changes associated with dementia. The potential of fundus image analysis in differentiating between dementia subtypes should be investigated using larger well-characterized samples. Future work should focus on refining and standardizing methods and measurements. Keywords Alzheimer's disease Dementia Fundus Retinal imaging Retinal vasculature Related links Eyes / retinal Link to paper on ClinicalKey Ms. Sarah McGrory Dr Fergus Doubal Prof Ian Deary Prof Baljean Dhillon Prof Joanna Wardlaw Dr Tom MacGillivray Publication date 21 Jun, 2018
