Does the Outer Retinal Thickness Around Geographic Atrophy Represent Another Clinical Biomarker for Predicting...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Imaging
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Geographic atrophy (GA) is a leading cause of vision loss.
• Predicting GA enlargement rate is crucial for patient management.
• Novel biomarkers for GA progression are needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if outer retinal layer (ORL) thickness around GA can predict its annual enlargement rate (ER).
• To assess the correlation between ORL thickness and GA growth.
• To explore the relationship between ORL thickness, choriocapillaris flow, and RPE-Bruch membrane distance.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of a prospective observational case series.
• Swept-source OCT imaging of GA lesions.
• Measurement of ORL thickness in subregions around GA.
• Calculation of annual GA enlargement rates.

Main Results:

• A significant negative correlation was found between ORL thickness and GA annual ER (r = -0.457, P = .004).
• ORL thickness in a 300-μm rim around GA showed the strongest correlation with growth.
• ORL thickness correlated significantly with RPE-BM distances (r = -0.398, P = .013) but not CC FDs.

Conclusions:

• Outer retinal layer thickness is a potential biomarker for predicting GA annual enlargement.
• The correlation suggests photoreceptor loss is associated with basal laminar deposits in GA.
• ORL thickness and RPE-BM distance are dependently correlated with GA growth.