Introduction: The aim of this study was to compare the macular and peripapillary capillary vessel density (CVD) and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) in amblyopic eyes of adults with their fellow eyes and with eyes of healthy controls using optical coherence tomography-angiography (OCT-A).
Methods: A total of 34 eyes of 17 patients with anisometropic amblyopia and 80 eyes of 40 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were included. CVD in superficial (SCP) and deep retinal capillary plexuses (DCP), peripapillary region, and FAZ were analyzed by OCT-A.
Results: The median ages were 31 years (range 20-64) in patients with amblyopia and 34.5 years (range 24-65) in healthy controls (p = 0.242). The mean FAZ area measured was 0.329 ± 0.024 mm2 in amblyopic eyes, 0.332 ± 0.025 mm2 in fellow eyes, and 0.269 ± 0.015 mm2 in control eyes (p < 0.05). The amblyopic eye of participants showed a decrease in CVD of SCP and DCP (p < 0.001, for all). The inside optic disk CVD measurements were lower in the amblyopic eyes than in the fellow eyes (p = 0.001) and healthy subjects (p = 0.015).
Conclusion: Significant differences in macular and peripapillary microvasculature were found in anisometropic amblyopic patients. The clinical significance of the results requires further investigation.
Keywords: Anisometropic amblyopia; Foveal avascular zone; Optical coherence tomography-angiography; Peripapillary microvasculature; Retinal microvasculature; Superficial and deep retinal capillary plexuses.