Initiating Events of Retinopathy in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats: Microvascular Rarefaction and Functional Deficits

Key Points

• To investigate the early pathological events leading to retinopathy in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
• Analyzed microvascular changes and retinal function in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
• Utilized optical coherence tomography angiography to quantify vascular density.
• Studied the relationship between microvascular rarefaction and blood-retinal barrier breakdown.
• Identified superficial microvascular rarefaction as a precursor to retinal dysfunction.
• Showed that vascular plexus density decreases significantly before macrovascular changes occur.
• Confirmed the effectiveness of imaging biomarkers in early retinal damage assessment.

Abstract