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Updated: Mar 8, 2026
In vivo Structural Assessments of Ocular Disease in Rodent Models using Optical Coherence Tomography
Published on: July 24, 2020
Comparative data on SD-OCT for the retinal nerve fiber layer and retinal macular thickness in a large cohort with
WanWan Xu1,2, Sudhi P Kurup1,2, Amani A Fawzi1
1a Department of Ophthalmology , Northwestern University , Chicago , Illinois , USA.
Purpose:
To report the distribution of macular and optic nerve topography in the eyes of individuals with Marfan syndrome aged 8-56 years using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).
Methods:
Thirty-three patients with Marfan syndrome underwent a full eye examination including slit-lamp biomicroscopy, indirect ophthalmoscopy, and axial length measurement; and SD-OCT measurements of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and macular thickness.
Results:
For patients between the ages of 8 and 12 years, the average RNFL thickness is 98 ± 9 μm, the vertical cup to disc (C:D) ratio is 0.50 ± 0.10, the central subfield thickness (CST) is 274 ± 38 μm, and the macular volume is 10.3 ± 0.6 mm3. For patients between the ages of 13 and 17 years, the average RNFL is 86 ± 16 μm, the vertical C:D ratio is 0.35 ± 0.20, the CST is 259 ± 15 μm, and the macular volume is 10.1 ± 0.5 mm3. For patients 18 years or older, the average RNFL is 89 ± 12 μm, the vertical C:D ratio is 0.46 ± 0.18, the CST is 262 ± 20 μm, and the macular volume is 10.2 ± 0.4 mm3. When the average RNFL data are compared to a normative, age-adjusted database, 6 of 33 (18%) were thinner than the 5% limit.
Conclusion:
This study reports the distribution of SD-OCT data for patients with Marfan syndrome. Compared to a normative database, 18% of eyes with Marfan syndrome had RNFL thickness < 5% of the population.
