The intrinsically restructured fovea is correlated with contrast sensitivity loss in Parkinson's disease.

Abstract

Foveal structure that is specified by the thickness, depth and the overall shape of the fovea is a promising tool to qualify and quantify retinal pathology in Parkinson's disease. To determine the model variable that is best suited for discriminating Parkinson's disease eyes from those of healthy controls and to assess correlations between impaired contrast sensitivity and foveal shape we characterized the fovea in 48 Parkinson's disease patients and 45 control subjects by optical coherence tomography (OCT). The model quantifies structural changes in the fovea of Parkinson's disease patients that are correlated with a decline in contrast sensitivity. Retinal foveal remodeling may serve as a parameter for vision deficits in Parkinson's disease. Whether foveal remodeling reflects dopaminergic driven pathology or rather both dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic pathology has to be investigated in longitudinal studies.