[Vascular Biomarkers in Retinal Vessel Analysis]. / Vaskuläre Biomarker der retinalen Gefäßanalyse.

Modern non-invasive imaging procedures - including fundus photography and optical filming - can be used to investigate objective aspects of changes in the function and structure of retinal vessels. In the pre-, post- and capillary areas, the status and behaviour of retinal vessels passively and actively influence blood flow and flow-related metabolism through changes in vascular diameter. Retinal vessels have the same structure and function as cerebral vessels and reflect the status of the microcirculation. In dynamic retinal vessel analysis, the function and structure of the longitudinal section of retinal vessels are subjected to a non-invasive functional and structural examination over a period before, during and after a specific vascular stimulation. The exact methodology of the evaluation and the designation of the parameters depend on the investigation. Retinal vessel analysis has been employed in several cross-sectional and interventional clinical studies in ophthalmology and other specialities, including cardiology, neurology, neurosurgery, nephrology, gynaecology, sports medicine, diabetology, hypertensiology and others. Static retinal vessel analysis is an inexpensive, reproducible, non-invasive technique, which can be used to make a prognostic statement on the vascular health of an individual patient. Dynamic retinal vessel analysis possesses a broader spectrum of diagnostic applications than the static procedure, as it examines changes in vessel diameter continuously over time. The use of several different methodological modalities for retinal vessel analysis together with their relevant quantitative biomarkers represents a promising approach for the evaluation of vascular diseases and cerebro- or cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Interdisciplinary clinical application of these vascular biomarkers is becoming increasingly important in ophthalmology and other specialities.