LAUSR

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant public health problem with a high risk of developing age-dependent eye diseases. Renal glomeruli and the choroid have similar structures and vascular networks; the internal hematoretinal barrier and the glomerular filtration barrier have similar developmental path; the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone hormonal system is found in both the eye and the kidneys. All this determines the similarity of physiological and pathogenetic features of the development of diseases associated with these organs. The article discusses general risk factors and pathophysiological mechanisms of development of retinal and renal lesions in CKD, the influence of various factors of pathogenesis on their development and progression. The anatomical similarity of vascularization, accompanied by microvascular changes in the retina and kidneys, leads to similar complications in both organs. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) are accurate, well reproducible and non-invasive methods for diagnosing and assessing changes in the retinal microvascular bed, which make it possible to assess microvasculature changes in the kidneys. In CKD, the retina shows signs of impaired capillary perfusion, a decrease in their density, expansion of intercapillary spaces, a rarefaction of the density of the parafoveolar capillary network, which may indicate a decrease in peritubular capillary blood flow, blood circulation of the kidneys in general and their ischemia. Significant thinning of the retina and choroid, along with a decrease in macular volume, even in the initial stages of CKD, is accompanied by impaired renal function (changes in the estimated glomerular filtration rate and urinary albumin excretion), which is a sign of systemic microvascular lesion and pathological process in the kidneys. Therefore, monitoring of retinal vessels using OCT and OCT-A can become a reliable indicator of the progression of renal microvascular changes at any stage of the disease.