Retinal Blood Flow as a Biomarker of Aging and Physiological Function

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

Publication Title

Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 2026

Volume

67

Issue

7

Pages

2365

Abstract

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between ocular blood flow, aging, and cognitive function in healthy subjects over the age of 50. We hypothesize that these blood flow measures correlate with aging and may act as a biomarker for potential age-related neurodegenerative processes.

Methods : A cross-sectional study of 82 eyes of 47 healthy control subjects was conducted. Subjects were over 50 years of age without diabetes, hypertension, significant ocular disease and had a mini mental status exam of 24 or greater. Eligible subjects then underwent spectral domain OCT, OCT Angiography, Laser Speckle Contrast imaging (XyCAM RI, Vasoptic Inc, Baltimore, MD) of the optic nerve head and macula, and nailfold video capillaroscopy. Cognitive function and balance were assessed using the Mini Mental Status exam, Trail Making Test B (TMTB), closed and open Romberg, and Timed Up and Go (TUG) tests. Pearson correlation tests were used to assess relationships between age, cognitive and functional testing as well as age, retinal blood flow and nailfold blood flow.

Results : Age was significantly correlated with TMTB time (p< 0.01, r= 0.5). The open Romberg exam also showed a highly significant association with age (p< 0.01, r= -0.5). Among the microvascular waveform biomarkers, age was significantly related to an increase in the dip on the pulse waveform (p < 0.01, r= -0.2), as well as to key vascular resistance metrics including the Pulsatility Index (PI) (p < 0.01, r= 0.3), Resistive Index (RI) (p < 0.01, r=0.4), and Pulsatility Ratio (PR) (p < 0.01, r=0.3). Nailfold blood flow velocity demonstrated a significant correlation with total retinal blood flow, particularly the waveform dip parameter (p< 0.01, r= 0.3).

Conclusions : The results demonstrated that, with age, cognitive function declined, and retinal microvascular resistance indices indicated reduced vascular compliance.

Original Publication Citation

Vexlund, H., Wu, J.-Y., Kilby, C. F., Porwal, Y., Bomma, L., Oechsli, S., Elbash, K., Gill, A., Mansoor, S., Kapoor, R., Asanad, S., Forbes, H. E., Rege, A., Sinha, A., Im, L., Taubenslag, K., Horan, T., & Saeedi, O. (2026). Retinal blood flow as a biomarker of aging and physiological function. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 67(7), 2365. https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2813908

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS