Contributions
Abstract: P1079
Type: Poster
Abstract Category: Pathology and pathogenesis of MS - 22 OCT
Background: Neurodegeneration plays a critical role in multiple sclerosis (MS), starting from the early stage of the disease and determining accumulation of disabilities (Frischer et al, 2009). Brain atrophy on MRI and thinning of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) on Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) are used for prognostic purposes (Balcer et al, 2015). Retinal segmentation and the association between retinal layers' thickness and focal cortical volumes have not been thoroughly investigated as potential markers of neurodegeneration in MS.
Aims:
1) to evaluate retinal layers' changes in eyes without history of optic neuritis in patients with a new diagnosis of MS in comparison with healthy controls;
2) to investigate whether the thickness of the macular ganglion cell/inner plexiform (mGCIPL) layer and the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) is associated with specific pattern of grey matter volumes from the very early stages of the disease.
Methods: thirty-one patients without a history of optic neuritis and with a new diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS (Polman et al, 2011) (mean disease duration ≤1 year) underwent spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT). Thirty age- and sex-matched healthy controls were also tested. Retinal segmentation was obtained with the new SD-OCT Automatic Segmentation Explorer mapping software. Patients performed also a brain 3T-MRI scan. The association between focal cortical volumes and OCT measurements was investigated using voxel-based morphometry.
Results: macular retinal nerve fiber layer (mRNFL), macular ganglion cell layer (mGCL), macular inner plexiform layer (mIPL) and mGCIP thickness were significantly reduced in patients with a new diagnosis of MS compared to controls, while pRNFL thickness was not. Moreover, mGCIP and pRNFL showed a significantly association with the peristriate cortex, the parastriate cortex and the parietal cortex (particularly the angular gyrus).
Conclusions: from the very early stages of the disease, mRNFL, mGCL and mIPL are significantly reduced in MS patients, without a concomitant pRNFL thinning. These findings suggest that retinal damage might not be only secondary to axonal damage, as currently hypothesized (Shindler et al. 2008), but could begin from the macular ganglion cells. Moreover, OCT thickness shows already at the time of diagnosis a significant association with cortical regions that are crucial for visuo-spatial performance.
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose
Abstract: P1079
Type: Poster
Abstract Category: Pathology and pathogenesis of MS - 22 OCT
Background: Neurodegeneration plays a critical role in multiple sclerosis (MS), starting from the early stage of the disease and determining accumulation of disabilities (Frischer et al, 2009). Brain atrophy on MRI and thinning of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) on Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) are used for prognostic purposes (Balcer et al, 2015). Retinal segmentation and the association between retinal layers' thickness and focal cortical volumes have not been thoroughly investigated as potential markers of neurodegeneration in MS.
Aims:
1) to evaluate retinal layers' changes in eyes without history of optic neuritis in patients with a new diagnosis of MS in comparison with healthy controls;
2) to investigate whether the thickness of the macular ganglion cell/inner plexiform (mGCIPL) layer and the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) is associated with specific pattern of grey matter volumes from the very early stages of the disease.
Methods: thirty-one patients without a history of optic neuritis and with a new diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS (Polman et al, 2011) (mean disease duration ≤1 year) underwent spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT). Thirty age- and sex-matched healthy controls were also tested. Retinal segmentation was obtained with the new SD-OCT Automatic Segmentation Explorer mapping software. Patients performed also a brain 3T-MRI scan. The association between focal cortical volumes and OCT measurements was investigated using voxel-based morphometry.
Results: macular retinal nerve fiber layer (mRNFL), macular ganglion cell layer (mGCL), macular inner plexiform layer (mIPL) and mGCIP thickness were significantly reduced in patients with a new diagnosis of MS compared to controls, while pRNFL thickness was not. Moreover, mGCIP and pRNFL showed a significantly association with the peristriate cortex, the parastriate cortex and the parietal cortex (particularly the angular gyrus).
Conclusions: from the very early stages of the disease, mRNFL, mGCL and mIPL are significantly reduced in MS patients, without a concomitant pRNFL thinning. These findings suggest that retinal damage might not be only secondary to axonal damage, as currently hypothesized (Shindler et al. 2008), but could begin from the macular ganglion cells. Moreover, OCT thickness shows already at the time of diagnosis a significant association with cortical regions that are crucial for visuo-spatial performance.
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose