Optical coherence tomography assessment of axonal and neuronal damage of the retina in patients with familial and sporadic multiple sclerosis

Abstract

ObjectiveOptical coherence tomography (OCT) assessment of axonal and neuronal damage of the retina in patients with familial and sporadic multiple sclerosis.Methods45 patients with familial MS (fMS), 58 patients with sporadic MS (sMS) and 35 healthy controls were included in the study. OCT was performed with the spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT, Heidelberg Engineering, Germany). The retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and macular volume (MV) were measured.ResultsA significant thinning of the global RNFL thickness was detected in both forms of MS compared to control group, (86,61 (+/- 14,74) µm in sMS, 85,8 (+/- 12,7) µm in fMS, 97,96 (+/- 7,6) µm in control group; p <0,001). There was no significant difference in the global RNFL thickness between sMS and fMS. A significant reduction of the MV was shown in sMS and fMS compared to control group (8,12 (+/- 1,14) mm3 in sMS, 8,1 (+/- 1,12) mm3 in fMS, and 8,81 (+/- 0,31) mm3 in control group; p = 0,003). No difference in MV between sMS and fMS was found. However, in eyes with history of optic neuritis (ON) MV was significantly reduced in sMS versus fMS (8,12 (+/- 2,87) mm3 vs. 8,42 (+/- 0,54) mm3; p=0,05).ConclusionWe confirmed the presence of axonal and neuronal damage of the retina in sMS and fMS. ON induced a significantly greater reduction of MV in sMS compared to fMS, indicating a stronger neuronal damage in ON eyes in sMS than in fMS.KEY MESSAGESThe familial MS accounts for a significant proportion of MS patients and there is still ongoing discussion on the distinction between familial (fMS) and sporadic (sMS) forms of this disease. Using OCT, we confirmed the presence of axonal and neuronal damage in the retina in both forms of MS. We found that optic neuritis (ON) induced a greater retinal neuronal damage in sMS than in fMS. These results support the conclusion that there are some discrete differences in pathological processes occurring in the retina in sMS and fMS.