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In vivo Structural Assessments of Ocular Disease in Rodent Models using Optical Coherence Tomography
Published on: July 24, 2020
Tracking longitudinal retinal changes in experimental ocular hypertension using the cSLO and spectral domain-OCT
Li Guo1, Eduardo M Normando, Shereen Nizari
1Visual Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, United Kingdom. l.guo@ucl.ac.uk
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
|August 7, 2010
Summary
Glaucoma damages the outer retina in rats with ocular hypertension. Whole retinal thickness measured by OCT is a reliable indicator of both inner and outer retinal damage in this glaucoma model.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Neuroscience
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Glaucoma's impact on the outer retina remains debated.
- Ocular hypertension (OHT) is a key risk factor for glaucoma progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate outer retinal involvement in experimental OHT.
- To evaluate whole retinal thickness as a surrogate marker for glaucomatous changes.
Main Methods:
- Surgically induced OHT in Dark Agouti rats.
- Utilized Spectralis OCT for imaging retinal layers at baseline, 3, and 8 weeks.
- Measured whole and individual retinal layer thickness in four peri-optic nerve head regions.
Main Results:
- OHT significantly reduced whole retinal thickness and the outer nuclear layer (ONL) by 3 and 8 weeks.
- Thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) was observed, consistent with glaucoma.
- Whole retinal thickness correlated strongly with RNFL and ONL thinning, indicating its utility as a surrogate marker.
Conclusions:
- Modified OCT successfully tracked structural damage in experimental rat OHT.
- Evidence of glaucomatous damage in outer retinal layers was demonstrated.
- Whole retinal thickness serves as a valuable surrogate marker for both inner and outer retinal changes in this model.
