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Effects of Flavanol-Rich Dark Chocolate on Visual Function and Retinal Perfusion Measured With Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

ABSTRACT: Importance:A recently reported randomized clinical trial suggested beneficial effects of vasodilating flavanols in dark chocolate on visual function without objective quantification of retinal perfusion. Objective:To assess the effects of dark chocolate flavanols on subjective visual function and retinal perfusion objectively quantified on optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography. Design, Setting, and Participants:This randomized, masked double-blind crossover clinical trial analyzed 22 healthy participants at the Department of Ophthalmology, Ludwig Maximilians-University Munich, Germany, in July 2018. Analysis was intention to treat. Analysis began in July 2018. Interventions:Participants were randomized to consume 20 g of dark chocolate containing 400 mg of flavanols or 7.5 g of milk chocolate. Two hours later, visual function and retinal perfusion on OCT angiography were evaluated. Systemic blood pressure was measured to rule out artifacts on OCT angiography. Main Outcomes and Measures:The primary end point was macular retinal perfusion quantified as vessel density on OCT angiography. The secondary end point was subjective visual function (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study visual acuity, Pelli-Robson chart, and Mars chart contrast sensitivity). Results:All 22 participants (13 women [59.1%]; mean [SD] age, 27.3 [11.1] years) completed the trial. No relevant differences in baseline parameters between groups were identified. No change in the primary outcome measure, retinal perfusion, could be detected after consumption of dark vs milk chocolate (superficial plexus 48.0% vs 47.5%, treatment effect: -0.59 [95% CI, -2.68 to 1.50], P?=?.56; deep plexus 54.1% vs 54.0%, treatment effect: -1.14 [95% CI, -4.01 to 1.73], P?=?.42). No differences in changes in the secondary outcome parameters Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study visual acuity, Pelli-Robson chart, or Mars chart contrast sensitivity could be detected. Potentially confounding effects of changes in blood pressure were excluded. Conclusions and Relevance:In contrast to a previous similarly sized randomized clinical trial reporting beneficial effects on visual function, no short-term effects of flavanol-rich dark chocolate on automatically assessed retinal blood flow on OCT angiography or subjective visual function were observed in this study. As this small trial does not rule out the possibility of benefits, further trials with larger sample sizes would be needed to rule in or out possible long-term benefits confidently. Trial Registration:German Clinical Trials Register identifier: DRKS0001506.

SUBMITTER: Siedlecki J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6763974 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effects of Flavanol-Rich Dark Chocolate on Visual Function and Retinal Perfusion Measured With Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Siedlecki Jakob J Mohr Niklas N Luft Nikolaus N Schworm Benedikt B Keidel Leonie L Priglinger Siegfried G SG

JAMA ophthalmology 20191201 12

<h4>Importance</h4>A recently reported randomized clinical trial suggested beneficial effects of vasodilating flavanols in dark chocolate on visual function without objective quantification of retinal perfusion.<h4>Objective</h4>To assess the effects of dark chocolate flavanols on subjective visual function and retinal perfusion objectively quantified on optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography.<h4>Design, setting, and participants</h4>This randomized, masked double-blind crossover clinica ...[more]

PMID: 31556937

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Project description:PurposeTo evaluate the peripapillary and perifoveal retinal perfusions of young healthy eyes with a tessellated fundus using optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography.MethodsThirty-five Chinese subjects with a tessellated fundus and 35 subjects without a tessellated fundus from a population-based cross-sectional study in Shanghai were included. All participants underwent OCT angiography. The flow index and vessel density were examined in the peripapillary and perifoveal retinal areas, and their relationships with other ocular parameters were analyzed.ResultsIn the peripapillary area, the eyes with a tessellated fundus had a lower retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) flow index (0.055 ± 0.009 vs. 0.061 ± 0.007, P = 0.006), RNFL vessel density (61.8 ± 7.3 vs. 65.9 ± 5.2, P = 0.010), retinal flow index (0.086 ± 0.010 vs. 0.092 ± 0.008, P = 0.012), and retinal vessel density (83.7 ± 5.0 vs. 86.4 ± 3.7, P = 0.018) than the control eyes, and the difference remained significant even after adjustments were made for gender and RNFL thickness. No difference was found in the perifoveal area. Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that the retinal flow index and vessel density in the peripapillary area were significantly correlated with the tessellated fundus diagnosis (flow index: β = -0.006, P = 0.005; vessel density: β = -2.597, P = 0.006), gender (flow index: β = 0.005, P = 0.019; vessel density: β = 3.129, P = 0.002) and RNFL thickness (flow index: β = 0.000, P = 0.002; vessel density: β = 0.190, P = 0.002). The RNFL flow index and vessel density were significantly associated with the tessellated fundus diagnosis (flow index: β = -0.005, P = 0.005; vessel density: β = -3.572, P = 0.008) and the thickness of RNFL (flow index: β = 0.001, P < 0.001; vessel density: β = 0.421, P < 0.001).ConclusionsEyes with tessellated fundus with a relative decreased peripapillary retinal perfusion compared with eyes without a tessellated fundus were observed. The findings whether indicate causality that the reduction in the peripapillary perfusion and the peripapillary atrophy in myopia, need further study.

Project description:Importance:Whether optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) outperforms OCT to detect glaucoma remains inconclusive. Objective:To compare (1) the diagnostic performance for detection of glaucoma and (2) the structure-function association between inner macular vessel density and inner macular thickness. Design, Setting, and Participants:This cross-sectional study included 115 patients with glaucoma and 35 healthy individuals for measurements of retinal thickness and retinal vessel density, segmented between the anterior boundary of internal limiting membrane and the posterior boundary of the inner plexiform layer, over the 3 × 3-mm2 macula using swept-source OCT. All participants were Chinese. Visual sensitivity corresponding to the 3 × 3-mm2 macular region was expressed in unlogged 1/lambert for investigation of the structure-function associations. Diagnostic performance was evaluated with area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs). The study was conducted between January 12, 2016, and December 12, 2016. Main Outcomes and Measures:Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and R2 analysis. Results:Of the 115 patients with glaucoma, 42 (36.5%) were women (mean [SD] age, 53.5 [13.4] years); of the 35 individuals with healthy eyes, 25 (71.4%) were women (age, 60.6 [5.9] years). Inner macular vessel density and thickness were 4.3% (95% CI, 2.4%-6.1%) and 21.1 μm (95% CI, 17.4-24.9 μm) smaller, respectively, in eyes with glaucoma compared with healthy eyes. The AUC of mean inner macular thickness for glaucoma detection was greater than that of mean inner macular vessel density (difference, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.01-0.31; P = .03). At 90% specificity, the sensitivity of mean inner macular thicknesses for detection of glaucoma was greater than that of mean inner macular vessel densities (difference, 29.2%; 95% CI, 11.5%-64.6%; P = .02). The strength of the structure-function association was stronger for mean inner macular thickness than mean inner macular vessel density in the linear (difference in R2 = 0.38; 95% CI, 0.22-0.54; P < .001) and nonlinear (difference in R2 = 0.36; 95% CI, 0.21-0.51; P < .001) regression models. Conclusions and Relevance:In this study, OCT measurement of inner macular thickness shows a higher diagnostic performance to detect glaucoma and a stronger structure-function association than the currently used OCT-A measurement of inner macular vessel density. These findings may suggest that OCT-A of the macula has a limited role in the diagnostic evaluation of glaucoma.

Dataset Information

Effects of Flavanol-Rich Dark Chocolate on Visual Function and Retinal Perfusion Measured With Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Publications

Effects of Flavanol-Rich Dark Chocolate on Visual Function and Retinal Perfusion Measured With Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Similar Datasets

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