A review of retinal analysis by OCT in murine models Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Aims/Purpose: The use of murine models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the study of its pathophysiology is essential. In addition to a histological study of the retina, optical coherence tomography (OCT) allows a cost‐effective in vivo analysis of the retina. However, there is no standardization in the use of OCT in murine models of AD, leading to significant variations in study results. A review of the literature on murine models of AD analysed by OCT has been carried out. The characteristics of the animal model, the types of OCT, the retinal sectors analysed, the segmentation layers and the software used for segmentation were examined.Methods: We performed a literature search up to April 2023 using “MESH” terms in PubMed. The terms used were: “Alzheimer's mouse model”, “Optical Coherence Tomography”, “retinal optical coherence tomography” … as well as their combinations. We filter the articles by author criteria: the terms had to be in the title, in the abstract or in the article and they should be written in English or Spanish. Finally, 76 articles were used to the manuscript.Results: In comparison to studies using OCT in AD patients, only fourteen studies have utilized this technique to examine the retinas of murine AD models. Six different models, both first and second generation, were analysed, with most featuring presenilin mutations. There is no consensus regarding the measuring instrument, retinal area analysed, segmentation techniques, or software employed for analysis. Although some authors used the same OCT device, variations in other parameters hinder direct result comparison.Conclusions: It is essential to establish a unified criteria for OCT analysis of the retina in murine models of AD. This would allow the comparison of results and the establishment of measurement protocols. The use of OCT to understand the pathophysiology of AD would facilitate the longitudinal analysis of the disease and the possible identification of biomarkers.