# Mechanistic-Based Non-Invasive Assessment of Retinal Damage in HAART Era

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $387,500

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 The goal of our proposal is to define the impact of premature aging in HIV
seropositive subjects on the human eye. Antiretroviral therapy has dramatically
improved the life expectancy of HIV+ subjects. Research indicates that HIV+ subjects
experience age-related changes 10-15 years earlier than age-matched HIV- peers. The
human retina offers a unique window into a section of the central nervous system
(CNS). Currently, there is no biomarker for monitoring the effect of aging on the CNS.
The secondary goal is the development of a surrogate biomarker in the eye for CNS
damage. In this proposal we will use adaptive optical (AO) imaging to document cone
photoreceptor density and retinal vascular morphometry. Our preliminary data suggests
that HIV+ subjects have lower cone photoreceptor density. Other evidence indicates
that changes to the microvasculature may be age-related. We will additionally acquire
non-invasive vascular parameter using OCT angiography and metabolic data through
lifetime fluorescence measurement in the eye (FLIO). We will use Carotid intima-media
thickness as a cardiovascular surrogate biomarker. In addition, we will have access to
other putative measures of biological aging (telomere length, mitochondrial common
deletion, end-products of oxidative stress and DNA methylation) through the
collaboration with the HNRC. By combining AO imaging, OCT angiography, and FLIO
with our established structural data (SD-OCT, etc.) and putative measures of aging we
can study the impact of premature aging on the eye. The data will be correlated with
neurobehavioral, immunological and medical data collected by our collaborators at the
HNRC. We plan to develop clinical reliable evaluation tools for risk assessment of
premature aging. We will determine the prognostic capabilities of these evaluation tools
with the help of biostatistical modeling.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10004614
- **Project number:** 5R01EY016323-13
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Dirk-Uwe G Bartsch
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $387,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2006-06-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10004614

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10004614, Mechanistic-Based Non-Invasive Assessment of Retinal Damage in HAART Era (5R01EY016323-13). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10004614. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*