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Choroidal Changes in Rhesus Macaques in Aging and Age-Related Drusen.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Sazhnyev, Y; Sin, T-N; Ma, A; Chang, E; Huynh, L; Roszak, K; Park, S; Choy, K; Farsiu, S; Moshiri, A; Thomasy, SM; Yiu, G
Published in: Investigative ophthalmology & visual science
September 2023

Choroidal vascular changes occur with normal aging and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Here, we evaluate choroidal thickness and vascularity in aged rhesus macaques to better understand the choroid's role in this nonhuman primate model of AMD.We analyzed optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of 244 eyes from 122 rhesus macaques (aged 4-32 years) to measure choroidal thickness (CT) and choroidal vascularity index (CVI). Drusen number, size, and volume were measured by semiautomated annotation and segmentation of OCT images. We performed regression analyses to determine any association of CT or CVI with age, sex, and axial length and to determine if the presence and volume of soft drusen impacted these choroidal parameters.In rhesus macaques, subfoveal CT decreased with age at 3.2 µm/y (R2 = 0.481, P < 0.001), while CVI decreased at 0.66% per year (R2 = 0.257, P < 0.001). Eyes with soft drusen exhibited thicker choroid (179.9 ± 17.5 µm vs. 162.0 ± 27.9 µm, P < 0.001) and higher CVI (0.612 ± 0.051 vs. 0.577 ± 0.093, P = 0.005) than age-matched control animals. Neither CT or CVI appeared to be associated with drusen number, size, or volume in this cohort. However, some drusen in macaques were associated with underlying choroidal vessel enlargement resembling pachydrusen in human patients with AMD.Changes in the choroidal vasculature in rhesus macaques resemble choroidal changes in human aging, but eyes with drusen exhibit choroidal thickening, increased vascularity, and phenotypic characteristics of pachydrusen observed in some patients with AMD.

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Published In

Investigative ophthalmology & visual science

DOI

EISSN

1552-5783

ISSN

0146-0404

Publication Date

September 2023

Volume

64

Issue

12

Start / End Page

44

Related Subject Headings

  • Tomography, Optical Coherence
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Retinal Drusen
  • Retina
  • Ophthalmology & Optometry
  • Macular Degeneration
  • Macaca mulatta
  • Humans
  • Choroid
  • Animals
 

Citation

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Sazhnyev, Y., Sin, T.-N., Ma, A., Chang, E., Huynh, L., Roszak, K., … Yiu, G. (2023). Choroidal Changes in Rhesus Macaques in Aging and Age-Related Drusen. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 64(12), 44. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.64.12.44
Sazhnyev, Yevgeniy, Tzu-Ni Sin, Anthony Ma, Ellie Chang, Leon Huynh, Karolina Roszak, Sangwan Park, et al. “Choroidal Changes in Rhesus Macaques in Aging and Age-Related Drusen.Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 64, no. 12 (September 2023): 44. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.64.12.44.
Sazhnyev Y, Sin T-N, Ma A, Chang E, Huynh L, Roszak K, et al. Choroidal Changes in Rhesus Macaques in Aging and Age-Related Drusen. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science. 2023 Sep;64(12):44.
Sazhnyev, Yevgeniy, et al. “Choroidal Changes in Rhesus Macaques in Aging and Age-Related Drusen.Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, vol. 64, no. 12, Sept. 2023, p. 44. Epmc, doi:10.1167/iovs.64.12.44.
Sazhnyev Y, Sin T-N, Ma A, Chang E, Huynh L, Roszak K, Park S, Choy K, Farsiu S, Moshiri A, Thomasy SM, Yiu G. Choroidal Changes in Rhesus Macaques in Aging and Age-Related Drusen. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science. 2023 Sep;64(12):44.

Published In

Investigative ophthalmology & visual science

DOI

EISSN

1552-5783

ISSN

0146-0404

Publication Date

September 2023

Volume

64

Issue

12

Start / End Page

44

Related Subject Headings

  • Tomography, Optical Coherence
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Retinal Drusen
  • Retina
  • Ophthalmology & Optometry
  • Macular Degeneration
  • Macaca mulatta
  • Humans
  • Choroid
  • Animals