RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
A1 Sadykov, Evgenii
A1 Hosak, Ladislav
A1 Stepanov, Alexandr
A1 Zapletalova, Jana
A1 Studnicka, Jan
T1 Retinal microvascular abnormalities in major depression
JF Biomedical papers
YR 2024
VO 168
IS 2
SP 147
OP 155
DO 10.5507/bp.2023.026
UL https://biomed.papers.upol.cz/artkey/bio-202402-0007.php
AB Background. The aim of our study was to find a possible association between retinal microvascular abnormality and major depression in a non-geriatric population. Method. The participants with major depression were hospitalised at the University Hospital in Hradec Kralove, Department of Psychiatry. Retinal images were obtained using a stationary Fundus camera FF450 by Zeiss and a hand-held camera by oDocs. Results. Fifty patients (men n=18, women n=32) aged 16 to 55 (men's average age 33.7±9.9 years, women's average age 37.9±11.5 years) were compared with fifty mentally healthy subjects (men n=28, women n=22) aged 18 to 61 (men's average age 35.3±9.2 years, women's average age 36.6±10.6 years) in a cross-sectional design. The patients were diagnosed with a single depressive episode (n=26) or a recurrent depressive disorder (n=24) according to the ICD-10 classification. Our results confirmed significant microvascular changes in the retina in patients with depressive disorder in comparison to the control group of mentally healthy subjects, with significantly larger arteriolar (P<0.0001) as well as venular (P<0.001-0.0001) calibres in major depression. Conclusion. According to the literature, acute and chronic neuroinflammation is associated with changes in microvascular form and function. The endothelium becomes a major participant in the inflammatory response damaging the surrounding tissue and its function. Because the retina and brain tissue share a common embryonic origin, we suspect similar microvascular pathology in the retina and in the brain in major depression. Our results may contribute to a better understanding of depression etiopathogenesis and to its personalized treatment.