Optic Nerve and Optic Radiation Neurodegeneration in Patients with Glaucoma: In Vivo Analysis with 3-T Diffusion-Tensor MR Imaging

Abstract

Glaucoma is a complex neurologic disease that affects optic nerves and optic radiations. The finding that DT MR imaging-derived MD and FA in the optic nerves correlate with glaucoma severity suggests that these parameters could serve as complementary indicators of disease severity.

Voxel-Based Morphometry and Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Optic Pathway in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma: A Preliminary Study

“…7 Region-of-interest analysis with 3T DTI applied in the study of human glaucoma demonstrated a correlation between diffusivity scalars of the ON and optic radiation and glaucoma stage. 16 WM fibers of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus reach the superior frontal region (BA 8 and BA 6), and caudally these fibers reach the inferior parietal lobule and the dorsal parietal and occipital areas (BA 7, BA 39, BA 19). All these areas have been shown to play a role in visuospatial function.…”

“…All patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for POAG of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, which are intraocular pressure Ն21 mm Hg, glaucomatous optic disc and visual field abnormalities, and a nonoccludable anterior chamber angle without characteristics of congenital or secondary glaucoma. 17 In patients, the disease duration from the diagnosis of glaucoma was [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] …”

“…7,14,15 High-field-strength DTI by using region-of-interest analysis in human glaucoma demonstrated a correlation between diffusivity scalars and glaucoma stage. 16 Voxelwise statistical analysis of DTI scalars assesses changes throughout the whole brain without a priori identification of a region of interest. 9 Although POAG is a significant cause of blindness, it has not been an area of intensive research interest in imaging, and to the authors' knowledge, no other study has used the abovementioned imaging techniques to assess the human brain in the setting of this disease.…”

Assessment of Lateral Geniculate Nucleus Atrophy with 3T MR Imaging and Correlation with Clinical Stage of Glaucoma

“…17,18 Garaci et al 17 performed a diffusion tensor imaging scan on POAG patients, with MD and FA maps automatically created. They found that the optic radiations and optic nerves of patients with glaucoma, as compared with control subjects, had significantly higher MD and significantly lower FA.…”

“…However, because POAG is an insidious disease, the time of diagnosis does not necessarily coincide with the time of disease onset, rendering disease chronicity difficult to establish. 17 Furthermore, glaucoma that progresses at a variable rate, with fluctuations in intraocular pressure; the timeframe between staging of the glaucomatous disease and neuroimaging may thus not easily be established, especially in the early stage. The present study has limitations.…”