<p>Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness and Total Macular Volume in Multiple Sclerosis Subtypes and Their Relationship with Severity of Disease, a Cross-Sectional Study</p>

Abstract

Background: Optic neuritis (ON) is an inflammatory demyelinating lesion in the optic nerve, which is strongly associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive technique for the evaluation of the retinal layers. Our aim was to examine OCT metrics including retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT), and total macular volume (TMV), in MS subtypes and their relationship with duration, first manifestation, and severity of disease. Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients with a definite diagnosis of MS underwent complete ophthalmic and neurologic examination. OCT parameters including TMV and RNFLT were compared between MS subtypes and different first manifestations of MS. Their relationships were also studied with the duration and severity of disease based on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score. Results: A total of 240 eyes were examined in 120 enrolled MS patients. The differences in RNFLT were not analytically meaningful between the subtypes of MS, but the differences in TMV values were statistically significant between the subtypes of MS (P: 0.39 and P: 0.04, respectively). The differences between RNFLT and TMV of eyes with and without ON were statistically significant between these two groups (P<0.001 and P<0.001). There was also an inverse correlation between EDSS disability score and RNFLT and TMV values (P: 0.00, r: −0.33 and P: 0.034, r: −0.11, respectively) and a significant inverse correlation between the duration of MS and RNFLT (P: 0.00, r: −0.47). The differences in RNFLT and TMV values were analytically meaningful between the categories of first manifestations of MS (P: 0.000 and P: 0.027, respectively). Conclusion: RNFLT and TMV represent noninvasive parameters for assessment of neuroaxonal degeneration in the anterior visual pathway that correlate with the severity and duration of multiple sclerosis. The lowest RNFLT and TMV values were also seen in the perceptual category between the first manifestations of MS. Therefore, they may be useful in the evaluation of MS patients.

Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in multiple sclerosis with and without optic neuritis: a four-year follow-up study from Oman

“…In a two-year follow-up study, Garcia-Martin et al [ 21 ] found that RNFL changes occurred at a similar rate in non-affected eyes with no evidence of ON. Eslami et al [ 22 ] found a significant inverse correlation between MS duration and RNFL thickness, regardless of the presence or absence of ON.…”

Optic Nerve Head Changes in Patients with Optic Neuritis Secondary to Multiple Sclerosis: A Comparison of The Affected and Fellow Healthy Eyes

“…Some studies reported that OCT is an essential imaging method for monitoring neurodegenerative diseases and MS. It was found that peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (ppRNFL) and macular thickness were associated with disease severity, cognitive and physical dysfunction in patients with MS [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] .…”

OCT Analysis in Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis during Fingolimod Therapy: 2-Year Longitudinal Retrospective Study

“…To date, many clinical studies have demonstrated the usefulness of assessing, by OCT, the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFL-T) and the total macular volume (TMV) in patients with MS, considering the reduction of these parameters as biomarkers of disease progression [18,[23][24][25][26][27]. Instead, in RR-MS patients treated with fingolimod, there are no long-term studies that analyze macular and RNFL changes and assess the effect of these retinal changes on VA, low-contrast letter acuity (LCLA) and VF.…”