Retinal abnormatilites as a diagnostic or prognostic marker of schizophrenia

Abstract

The review is a summary of structural and functional changes in the human retina observed in patients with schizophrenia. The main focus is on the potential of these changes to serve as schizophrenia-specific biomarkers accessible to clinicians. We identified three features of the retina that can be detected non-invasively in humans and which appear to show charateristic changes in schizophrenia: (1) retinal microvasculature displaying abnormally wide venules; (2) electroretinograms indicating altered function of photoreceptors or other cells in the retinal component of the visual pathway; (3) optical coherence tomography pointing to structural differences between the retinae of patients with schizophrenia and those of healthy volunteers. We propose that the most feasible approach to evaluating the data would be to study the genetic and epigenetic background of the schizophrenia-associated retinal abnormalities and establish their significance and specificity as potential biomarkers for the disease. The studies should include longitudinal observations focusing on the possible involvement of medication and comorbid conditions in the mechanism of the disease; a comparison of schizophrenia with other mental disorders; and investigating retinal abnormalities in animal models of psychoses. Biomarkers identified in the process could represent an important addition to the arsenal of non-invasive techniques available to both clinicians and researchers. These novel biomarkers could facilitate research of the biological basis of psychosis and help to address the diagnostic, predicitive, preventative, prophylactic and therapeutic aspects of schizophrenia.

Optic nerve head neurovascular assessments in patients with schizophrenia: A cross‐sectional study

“…There has been some evidence that vascular inflammatory processes play some roles in schizophrenia pathogenesis, and this forms the basis of our attention to optic nerve vascular densities. 23 We demonstrated that the cup/disc area ratio, and vertical and horizontal cup/disc ratio are significantly higher in patients with schizophrenia than healthy individuals. No statistically significant difference in peripapillary RNFL thickness and vascular parameters in the optic nerve head was observed between the two groups.…”

Retinal arteriolar and venular diameters are widened in patients with schizophrenia

“…Ladislav Hosák, MD, PhD, 1 Tomáš Zeman, MSc, PhD, 2,3 Jan Studnička, MD, PhD, 4 Alexandr Stepanov, MD, PhD, 4 Libor Ustohal, MD, PhD, 5 Marek Michalec, MD, PhD, 6 Jan Lochman, MSc, PhD, 2,3 Tomáš Jurečka, MD, PhD, 7 Evgenii Sadykov, MD, PhD, 1 Nandu Goswami, MD, PhD, 8 Patrick De Boever, MSc, PhD, 9,10,11 Vladimir J. Balcar, MSc, PhD, DSc 12 and Omar Šerý, MSc, PhD The treatment of malocclusion with skeletal deformity is managed by both orthognathic surgery and orthodontic treatment. 1 Most orthodontic patients pursue recovery of masticatory function.…”

“…Pending resolution of conflicting evidence 2,3 and inclusion of genetic factors 9 as well as confirmation by larger studies, the measurement of retinal blood vessel diameter could become a screening or diagnostic tool. 10…”

Association between retinal vascular measures and brain white matter lesions in schizophrenia

“…Also, the association between retinal microvasculature and impaired working memory (Appaji et al, 2020) and brain cortical thickness have been reported (Korann et al, 2021). A few authors have also proposed retinal vascular abnormalities as a potential biomarker in schizophrenia (Hosak et al, 2018).…”