# Age-related Changes in Human Retinal Microvasculature

> **NIH NIH R01** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2020 · $419,364

## Abstract

PROJECT
SUMMARY
/ABSTRACT 
Age-related degeneration of the retinal vasculature is one of the most pervasive developments in the aging
eye, resulting in increased susceptibility to vision threatening ocular diseases. Diabetic retinopathy in many
ways manifests as accelerated aging. Despite extensive research, quantitative data describing the dynamic
changes that occur during normal aging of the human retinal vasculature are limited. Appreciation of individual
variability in groups of healthy aging controls is critical for accurate interpretation of clinical results and planning
research into new treatment strategies. Thus, there is a desperate need for quantitative normative data
describing retinal vascular changes in the aging population. Such data will provide age-matched reference
values for retinal vasculature measurements. Our central hypothesis is that this normative data is essential for
understanding the impact of age-related changes on the progression of retinal vascular diseases, in order to
successfully identify more sensitive and predictive biomarkers. The most advanced currently available
noninvasive imaging techniques, adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy and optical coherence
tomography angiography, will be used to study structure and function of the human retinal microvasculature in
aging controls, and subjects with diabetic retinopathy. Three linking hypotheses will be evaluated for their
ability to support our central hypothesis, (1) advancing our current in vivo imaging techniques, which allow the
unprecedented ability to image and monitor the vascular cells down to the capillary level, can be used to
document precise quantification of structural and functional features of aging and diseased retinas, (2) there
are microvascular changes occurring in the healthy aging retina which need to be identified and accounted for
in any evaluation of retinal vascular pathology, and (3) subclinical retinal changes in diabetic patients
detectable using these imaging techniques that can be used to help differentiate pathology and distinguish
changes from those which characterize normal aging. It is hoped that the knowledge generated by the
proposed project will provide meaningful microvascular metrics and interpretations for translation to clinical
care.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9915922
- **Project number:** 5R01EY027301-04
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** Yuen Ping Toco Chui
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $419,364
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-05-01 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9915922

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9915922, Age-related Changes in Human Retinal Microvasculature (5R01EY027301-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9915922. Licensed CC0.

---

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