This study revealed a significant decrease in peripheral superficial retina vascular density and the area of radial peripapillary capillaries in high myopes. This image from the paper shows radial peripapillary capillaries in high myopia (a, b) and low myopia (c, d). Photo: Gu J, et al. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2024;13(9):21. Click image to enlarge.

New data—published in the journal Translational Vision Science & Technology—suggest that widefield OCT-A can reveal the effects of myopia on peripheral retinal superficial retina vascular density and the area of radial peripapillary capillaries (RPCs), providing valuable insights into the progression of the condition.

In this cross-sectional analysis, investigators used swept-source OCT (SS-OCT) to examine the impact of high myopia on superficial retina vascular density (SVD) of the peripheral region and the area of RPCs.

A total of 91 volunteers—34 male and 57 female—were recruited between September 2021 and December 2021. Participants were divided into two groups: group A (high myopia, 34 eyes, <−6D), and group B (low myopia, 57 eyes, ≥−6D). Researchers used the widefield OCT-A to compare the peripheral SVD and the area of RPC between the two groups as well as investigate its relationship with ocular axial length and refractive error.

Data showed that peripheral SVD of the low myopes around the supratemporal (SVD1), supranasal (SVD2), infratemporal (SVD3) and infranasal (SVD4) directions was significantly higher than that of the high myopes, the study authors reported in their paper.

While highlighting their findings in the journal Translational Vision Science & Technology, the investigators noted, “the study revealed a significant decrease in peripheral SVD and the area of RPC in the high myopic group.” Additionally, it was found that ocular axial length and extent of myopia have a significant correlation with peripheral supranasal and infranasal vascular density

“These findings indicated that high myopia can lead to compromised blood supply in the peripheral superficial retina vascular density and the area of RPC,” they concluded. “Therefore, widefield OCT-A can be used for new detection of myopia’s impact on the retinal capillaries, which can provide new insights of the progression in myopia.”