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Updated: Jun 23, 2025
Using Optical Coherence Tomography and Optokinetic Response As Structural and Functional Visual System Readouts in Mice and Rats
Published on: January 10, 2019
Retinal structural thicknesses reflect clinically relevant microstructural white matter abnormalities in
Zhipeng Xu1, Yulin Li2, Qinghui Fu1
1Department of Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, NO. 79 Qingchun Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310003, PR China.
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) metrics like peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) and ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness correlate with white matter integrity in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). These OCT findings may serve as valuable markers for neuronaxonal loss and disability.
Area of Science:
- Neuro-ophthalmology
- Neuroimmunology
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) frequently exhibits retinal thinning on optical coherence tomography (OCT).
- Understanding the relationship between retinal structure and central nervous system pathology in NMOSD is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between OCT-derived retinal metrics and white matter microstructural integrity measured by MRI in NMOSD patients.
- To explore the correlation between these imaging findings and clinical disability.
Main Methods:
- 44 NMOSD patients and 60 controls underwent OCT and MR imaging, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI).
- Measurements included peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) and ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness.
- Clinical disability was assessed using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).
Main Results:
- pRNFL thickness positively correlated with mean diffusivity in the left posterior thalamic radiation and axial kurtosis in the inferior cerebellar peduncle.
- GCC thickness showed a positive association with fractional anisotropy in the right superior longitudinal fasciculus and axial kurtosis of the left cerebellar peduncle.
Conclusions:
- OCT metrics, specifically pRNFL and GCC thickness, reflect the integrity of clinically relevant white matter structures in NMOSD.
- OCT findings hold potential as non-invasive markers for neuronaxonal loss and disability in NMOSD.
