Choroidal blood flow and choroidal thickness

Abstract

AbstractA progressive decrease of the choroidal blood flow related to macular degeneration was observed with glaucoma and aging. Abnormal regulation of the choroidal blood flow in patients suffering from neovascular AMD or Diabétic microangiopathy was also reported. Recent clinical studies have shown a decrease of the choroidal thicknessof in high myopia, AMD or in retinal dystrophies and increased choroidal thickness in central serous chorioretinopathy. Continuous real time Laser Doppler Flowmetry (LDF) has been used in humans for the evaluation of the subfoveal choroidal circulation and the investigation of the regulatory processes of the choroidal blood flow in response to various physiological stimuli, such as increase and decrease of the ocular perfusion pressure. The correlation of the subfoveal choroidal blood flow with the anatomical changes of the choroidal circulation, as observed by enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography(EDI‐OCT), was investigated in healthy volonteeres. No significant correlation was found between the subfoveal choroidal thickness and the choroidal blood flow. However, decreased subfoveal choroidal thickness was associated with decreased refractive error and axial length.