Correlations Between Disability Score, Optical Coherence Tomography and Microperimetry in Patients with Multiple...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Neuroscience
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) can cause ocular motility disturbances, impacting patient disability.
• Accurate assessment of visual impairment is crucial for managing MS and utilizing scales like the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize ocular motility disturbances using Microperimetry (MP) in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients.
• To identify MP parameters that correlate with disability and improve visual impact assessment on the EDSS scale.
• To compare MP findings with structural parameters from Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT).

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional, analytical, and correlational case-control study involving 41 MS patients and 15 healthy controls.
• Ophthalmological evaluation included MP and OCT, measuring parameters like ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer thickness (GCIPL), peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (pRNFL), and MP fixation stability indexes.
• Data analysis correlated MP and OCT findings with MS disease duration and EDSS scores.

Main Results:

• MS patients showed significantly reduced GCIPL and pRNFL thickness compared to controls.
• MP revealed longer examination and reaction times, reduced average macular threshold, and poorer fixation stability in MS patients.
• EDSS scores correlated with central macular thickness, MP duration, and fixation stability indexes.

Conclusions:

• Microperimetry and OCT are complementary tools for assessing MS patients.
• Objective MP measurements of oculomotor dysfunction can improve the accuracy of disability assessment in MS using the EDSS scale.