Retinal thickness in multiple sclerosis: evaluation with optical coherence tomography

Abstract

In various neurodegenerative diseases ocular manifestations are very common which can be examined and monitored in vivo by a novel imaging technique Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). So this study was conducted to compare retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and ganglion cell complex (GCC) between multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and healthy individual by optical coherence tomography (OCT). For this study 40 eyes of twenty consecutive MS patients and 40 eyes of 20 age matched healthy controls were taken. Comprehensive standardized ophthalmic examinations included visual acuity, cycloplegic refraction, color vision and intraocular pressure. Optical coherence tomography was performed using 3D Topcon OCT; RNFL thickness and ganglion cell complex (GCC) was detected with the inbuild software. Mean values for the thickness of the peripapillary RNFL and ganglion cell complex (GCC) were calculated and compared between both groups. It was observed that the RNFL thickness in each quadrant and ganglion cell complex (GCC) in MS patients were all significantly decreased in comparison to healthy controls. So it can be concluded that OCT is a valuable research instrument for evaluation and monitoring MS progression by measurement of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) as purely axonal structure (indicative for axonal loss) and the macular ganglion cell complex (evidence of neuronalloss).