PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH MATERNAL PLASMA OXYTOCIN IN LATE PREGNANCY: A MULTIVARIABLE ANALYSIS.

Neurodegenerative and neurovascular disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), represent a growing global health challenge and are associated with substantial personal, societal, and economic burdens. Early identification of these conditions remains difficult because pathological changes often begin years before the onset of clinically apparent symptoms. Detecting disease-related alterations during these early stages may facilitate timely intervention and potentially slow disease progression. However, currently available diagnostic approaches, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, are costly, invasive, and not readily applicable for large-scale population screening., The retina has emerged as a promising target for the investigation of neurological disease because of its unique developmental and anatomical relationship with the central nervous system (CNS). As an extension of the CNS, the retina shares structural, cellular, and microvascular characteristics with the brain, allowing retinal changes to potentially reflect pathological processes occurring within cerebral tissue. Consequently, the retina has frequently been described as a “window to the brain”, providing a unique opportunity to evaluate neurovascular alterations using non-invasive imaging techniques. Recent advances in retinal imaging have expanded the ability to assess both neural and vascular structures in vivo. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) enables high-resolution visualization of retinal architecture and quantification of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and ganglion cell complex thickness. Building upon these capabilities, optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) allows non-invasive visualization of retinal and choroidal microvasculature without the need for dye injection. OCTA provides quantitative metrics, including vessel density and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) measurements, offering a rapid, reproducible, and clinically accessible assessment of retinal microcirculation.,