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Retinal Optical Coherence Tomography Features Associated With Incident and Prevalent Parkinson Disease
Siegfried Karl Wagner1, David Romero-Bascones2, Mario Cortina-Borja2
1From the Institute of Ophthalmology (S.K.W., D.J.W., R.R.S., Y.Z., P.J.F., K.B., A.P.K., P.J.P., J.S.R., A.P., P.A.K.), University College London; NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology (S.K.W., D.R.-B., D.J.W., R.R.S., Y.Z., E.K., P.J.F., K.B., A.P.K., P.J.P., J.S.R., A.K.D., A.P., P.A.K.), London, United Kingdom; Biomedical Engineering Department (D.R.-B., E.K., U.A., M.B.), Faculty of Engineering (MU-ENG), Mondragon Unibertsitatea, Spain; Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (M.C.-B., J.S.R.), and Centre for Medical Image Computing (D.J.W., R.R.S., Y.Z.), Department of Computer Science, University College London; NeuroMetrology Lab (S.P., C.A.A.), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford; Dementia Research Centre (R.S.W.), University College London, United Kingdom; Department of Molecular Medicine (E.J.T.), Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA; Byers Eye Institute (E.K.), Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA; Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute (I.G.), Barakaldo; IKERBASQUE: The Basque Foundation for Science (I.G.), Bilbao, Spain; Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences (A.H.V.S.), UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology; Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (J.S.R.); Ulverscroft Vision Research Group (J.S.R.), University College London; NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital (J.S.R.), London; University of Birmingham (A.K.D.); University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (A.K.D.); NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre (A.K.D.), University of Birmingham; and Queen Square Institute of Neurology (A.P.), University College London, United Kingdom. s.wagner@ucl.ac.uk.
Retinal thinning in the inner nuclear layer (INL) and ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) is associated with Parkinson disease (PD). This finding suggests optical coherence tomography (OCT) may aid in early PD detection and risk stratification.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Neurology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Cadaveric studies indicate retinal neurodegeneration in Parkinson disease (PD).
- In vivo detection of these retinal changes using optical coherence tomography (OCT) remains under investigation.
- Inner retinal anatomy may serve as a biomarker for PD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate inner retinal anatomy in individuals with prevalent PD using OCT.
- To assess the association between retinal markers and the development of incident PD in a prospective cohort.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional analysis of two cohorts: AlzEye (retrospective, prevalent PD) and UK Biobank (prospective, incident PD).
- OCT imaging was used to measure macular retinal nerve fiber layer (mRNFL), ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL), and inner nuclear layer (INL) thicknesses.
- Statistical models (linear mixed-effects and frailty models) were employed to analyze associations.
Main Results:
- Individuals with prevalent PD showed significantly thinner GCIPL and INL compared to controls.
- Thinner GCIPL and INL were associated with an increased risk of developing incident PD in the prospective cohort.
- These retinal changes were detectable years before clinical PD diagnosis.
Conclusions:
- Parkinson disease is associated with reduced thickness in the INL and GCIPL of the retina.
- Retinal imaging, specifically OCT, shows potential for early risk stratification of PD.
- These findings highlight the role of the inner retina as a potential biomarker for PD.
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