Abstract
The use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been suggested as a potential biomarker for Alzheimer’s Disease based on previously reported thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in Alzheimer’s disease’s (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). However, other studies have not shown such results. 930 individuals (414 cognitively healthy individuals, 192 probable amnestic MCI and 324 probable AD) attending a memory clinic were consecutively included and underwent spectral domain OCT (Maestro, Topcon) examinations to assess differences in peripapillary RNFL thickness, using a design of high ecological validity. Adjustment by age, education, sex and OCT image quality was performed. We found a non-significant decrease in mean RNFL thickness as follows: control group: 100,20 ± 14,60 µm, MCI group: 98,54 ± 14,43 µm and AD group: 96,61 ± 15,27 µm. The multivariate adjusted analysis revealed no significant differences in mean overall (p = 0.352), temporal (p = 0,119), nasal (p = 0,151), superior (p = 0,435) or inferior (p = 0,825) quadrants between AD, MCI and control groups. These results do not support the usefulness of peripapillary RNFL analysis as a marker of cognitive impairment or in discriminating between cognitive groups. The analysis of other OCT measurements in other retinal areas and layers as biomarkers for AD should be tested further.
Highlights
The use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been suggested as a potential biomarker for Alzheimer’s Disease based on previously reported thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in Alzheimer’s disease’s (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
We found a non-significant decrease in mean RNFL thickness as follows: control group: 100,20 ± 14,60 μm, MCI group: 98,54 ± 14,43 μm and AD group: 96,61 ± 15,27 μm
Unmyelinated axons of retinal ganglion cells form the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) which prolongs as the optic nerve and connects to the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in the thalamus, which serves as the first relay center of the visual pathway
Summary
The use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been suggested as a potential biomarker for Alzheimer’s Disease based on previously reported thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in Alzheimer’s disease’s (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The multivariate adjusted analysis revealed no significant differences in mean overall (p = 0.352), temporal (p = 0,119), nasal (p = 0,151), superior (p = 0,435) or inferior (p = 0,825) quadrants between AD, MCI and control groups These results do not support the usefulness of peripapillary RNFL analysis as a marker of cognitive impairment or in discriminating between cognitive groups. Before the onset of dementia, cognitive disorders progress slowly with minor cognitive impairment and without significant interference in daily activities This prodromal phase is known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a clinically heterogeneous syndrome whose definition has evolved in last years[3,4,5] and can be due to many different etiologies (AD, vascular damage, depression,...). Numerous postmortem histopathological studies reported RNFL and ganglion cell layer (GCL) reduction in AD patients[18,19] others demonstrated disparate results[20,21,22]
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