Retinal ganglion cell and inner plexiform layer thinning in clinically isolated syndrome

Abstract

Background: Axonal and neuronal damage are widely accepted as key events in the disease course of multiple sclerosis. However, it has been unclear to date at which stage in disease evolution neurodegeneration begins and whether neuronal damage can occur even in the absence of acute inflammatory attacks. Objective: To characterize inner retinal layer changes in patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). Method: 45 patients with CIS and age-and sex-matched healthy controls were investigated using spectral domain optical coherence tomography. Patients' eyes were stratified into the following categories according to history of optic neuritis (ON): eyes with clinically-diagnosed ON (CIS-ON), eyes with suspected subclinical ON (CIS-SON) as indicated by a visual evoked potential latency of >115ms and eyes unaffected by ON (CIS-NON).Results: CIS-NON eyes showed significant reduction of ganglion cell-and inner plexiform layer and a topography similar to that of CIS-ON eyes. Seven eyes were characterized as CIS-SON and likewise showed significant retinal layer thinning. The most pronounced thinning was present in CIS-ON eyes. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that retinal pathology does occur already in CIS. Intraretinal layer segmentation may be an easily applicable, non-invasive method for early detection of retinal pathology in patients unaffected by ON.

Optic radiation damage in multiple sclerosis is associated with visual dysfunction and retinal thinning – an ultrahigh-field MR pilot study

“…The underlying pathophysiology of axonal loss [1][2][3], however, has remained unclear, impeding the development of neuroprotective drugs.…”

Retinal layer segmentation in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Since our last metaanalysis 3 time domain (TD-) retinal OCT has been overtaken by spectral domain (SD-) OCT in clinical practise 4 . The much higher resolution of SD-OCT now permits for individual retinal layer thickness analyses [5][6][7][8] . This…”

Dynamic molecular monitoring of retina inflammation byin vivoRaman spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis

“…The combination of molecular imaging by Raman spectroscopy with advanced imaging modalities of the retina such as spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) will provide valuable insights into the pathological events in retina inflammation. For example, in the case of MS, damage of the retina in absence of optic neuritis is a phenomenon observed from the early stages of the disease progression [34][35]. The molecular basis of this phenomenon is not understood; however, it is hypothesized that in patients with MS grey matter and the retina suffer chronic and diffuse inflammatory processes, which damage retinal neurons.…”