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Pursuit ocular movements in multiple sclerosis: a video-based eye-tracking study
Lorenzo De Santi1, Pietro Lanzafame, Barbara Spanò
1IRCCS Centro Neurolesi, Bonino-Pulejo, Via Provinciale Palermo, contrada Casazza, 98124, Messina, Italy. lorenzo.desanti@centroneurolesi.it
Abstract:
Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients frequently develop some form of ocular motor dysfunction during the disease. In previous studies, ocular motor abnormalities were found to correlate with clinical disability and with impaired cognitive performance. The objective of this study was to assess the pursuit ocular movement (POM) frequency in relapsing-remitting (RR) and secondary progressive (SP) MS patients by using a vision-based non-intrusive eye tracker. POM frequency was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in MS patients compared to normal controls. No differences between RR and SP-MS patients and no correlation between POM and expanded disability status scale (EDSS) score were found. This exploratory study suggests that our vision-based system is a new simple non-intrusive method showing impairment of POM values in MS patients, even in the absence of association with clinical disability (EDSS). Future works on larger cohorts of MS patients might validate this eye tracking in MS clinical practice.
Insights
Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients exhibit reduced pursuit ocular movement (POM) frequency, indicating a potential new non-intrusive method for detecting ocular motor dysfunction in MS. This impairment was observed regardless of disease subtype or clinical disability.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Ophthalmology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Ocular motor dysfunction is common in multiple sclerosis (MS).
- Previous research linked ocular motor abnormalities to clinical disability and cognitive deficits in MS.
- Pursuit ocular movements (POM) are crucial for visual tracking and can be affected by neurological conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate pursuit ocular movement (POM) frequency in relapsing-remitting (RR) and secondary progressive (SP) MS patients.
- To utilize a vision-based, non-intrusive eye tracker for assessing POM.
- To explore the relationship between POM and clinical disability (Expanded Disability Status Scale - EDSS).
Main Methods:
- Employed a vision-based, non-intrusive eye tracking system.
- Measured POM frequency in patients diagnosed with RRMS and SPMS.
- Compared POM frequency between MS patients and a control group of healthy individuals.
- Assessed correlation between POM frequency and EDSS scores.
Main Results:
- MS patients demonstrated significantly lower POM frequency compared to normal controls (p < 0.001).
- No significant differences in POM frequency were found between RRMS and SPMS patient groups.
- No correlation was observed between POM frequency and EDSS scores in the studied MS cohort.
Conclusions:
- The vision-based eye tracking system offers a novel, simple, and non-intrusive method for detecting POM impairment in MS patients.
- POM impairment is present in MS patients, even when not associated with clinical disability as measured by EDSS.
- Further research with larger MS cohorts is warranted to validate this eye tracking method for clinical practice.
