Accommodative amplitudes and high-order aberrations in patients with multiple sclerosis with optic nerve ınvolvement

This study aimed to investigate and compare the changes in corneal aberrations and accommodative amplitudes between patients with multiple sclerosis and normal individuals.

We included 20 patients who were previously diagnosed with multiple sclerosis with optic nerve involvement (multiple sclerosis group) and 20 healthy sex- and age-matched individuals (control group). We only selected those who were under 40 years old because accommodation in individuals over 40 years old significantly deteriorates. We measured the accommodative amplitude in diopters by minus lens test and evaluated the higher-order aberrations by using the iDesign aberrometer. Then, we compared the accommodative amplitude and the root mean square of higher-order aberrations between the groups.

The mean age of the multiple sclerosis and control groups were 35.25 ± 4.52 and 32.28 ± 6.83 years, respectively (p=0.170). The accommodative amplitude was 4.05 ± 1.25 D in the multiple sclerosis group and 6.00 ± 1.03 D in the control group, with a statistically significant difference (p<0.001). Meanwhile, the root mean square of higher-order aberrations was not significantly different between the groups (multiple sclerosis group, 0.44 ± 0.22; control group, 0.43 ± 0.10, p<0.824). Moreover, aberration changes had no statistically significant differences between the two groups at baseline and at 5 D stimulus.

The accommodative amplitude was decreased in patients with multiple sclerosis, suggesting the possible cause of transient visual impairments in these patients. However, this accommodative amplitude did not demonstrate a significant difference in terms of higher-order aberration change during accommodation between such patients and the controls.