Examining neuroretinal alterations in autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review of OCT and OCT-A studies.

INTRODUCTION

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects around 1% of the population, and its diagnosis is primarily clinical. Therefore, the study of biological markers is essential. The retina and optic nerve have been studied in many ocular and non-ocular diseases using non-invasive techniques such as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and OCT Angiography (OCT-A).

METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed using the Covidence® platform across promimnent databases including PubMed, PsycINFO and Embase up to February 2023.

RESULTS

The analysis of the included studies revealed differences in retinal parameters between individuals with ASD and neurotypical controls (NT). These variations encompassed changes in macular thickness and volume, RNFL thickness and volume, and in vascular perfusion and vessel density. Furthermore, certain changes were found to be correlated with clinical measures of ASD features.

CONCLUSIONS

Current evidence reported diverse changes in neuroretinal parameters in ASD individuals. OCT and OCT-A have shown promising results in evaluating neuroretinal alterations in individuals with ASD. These techniques hold potential as biomarkers for early detection and monitoring of ASD. However, further research is necessary to fully explore the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of OCT and OCT-A in ASD population.