Changes in oxygen saturation and the retinal nerve fibre layer in patients with optic neuritis associated with multiple sclerosis in a 6‐month follow‐up
Open Access
- 12 May 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Acta Ophthalmologica
- Vol. 98 (8), 841-847
- https://doi.org/10.1111/aos.14463
Abstract
Purpose Optic neuritis (ON) is an inflammatory demyelinating disorder of the optic nerve, which can be the first manifestation of multiple sclerosis (MS). The main goal was to assess changes in the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) and in retinal oxygen saturation [arterial (AS), venous (VS) and arterio‐venous (A‐V) difference] in the affected and unaffected eye. Methods Fifty patients with ON due to MS within 3 months of onset of symptoms were enrolled (17 males, mean age 35.3). All patients were examined at baseline (V1) and after 6 months (V2) using optical coherence tomography (OCT) to get RNFL values; automatic retinal oximetry to obtain saturation values; and ultrasound to exclude arterial stenosis, and orbital colour Doppler imaging was performed in the ophthalmic artery. Results At V1, AS was significantly increased in affected eye compared to unaffected eye (99.5% versus 98.0%, p = 0.03). Significant decrease in A‐V difference from baseline was detected in both eyes for ON eye: 32.0% versus 29.0%, p = 0.004; for fellow eye: 31.4% versus 30.0%, p = 0.04. We did not observe any changes in retinal vessel diameter. There were no changes observed in blood flow in ophthalmic artery. At V1, there were no significant differences in RNFL, and significant loss of RNFL was confirmed in the affected eye at V2 (95 μm versus 86 μm, p = 0.0002) and in comparison with the fellow eye (86 μm versus 94 μm, p = 0.0002). There were no correlations between RNFL and saturation values at V1, although at V2, there was a negative correlation between the RNFL and AS (Spearman's rho = −0.480, p = 0.003) and between the RNFL and VS (rho = −0.620, p = 0.00007). Conclusion Retinal oximetry is altered in both eyes in MS patients with unilateral ON. During the course of the disease, the retinal oxygen consumption decreases to a different degree in each eye and this change is not completely followed by changes in the RNFL thickness, suggesting either sub‐clinical ON or systemic effects in the clinically unaffected eye. Since this is the first and initial longitudinal evaluation of the saturation changes in MS patients, the clinical value of these findings needs to be deeper evaluated in the future studies.Keywords
Funding Information
- Agentura Pro Zdravotnický Výzkum České Republiky (NV19‐06‐00216)
This publication has 40 references indexed in Scilit:
- Optic Neuritis, its Differential Diagnosis and ManagementThe Open Ophthalmology Journal, 2012
- Retinal Oximetry Images Must Be Standardized: A Methodological AnalysisInvestigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 2012
- Orbital Doppler Evaluation of Blood Flow Velocities in Optic NeuritisKorean Journal of Ophthalmology, 2012
- Retinal Oximetry in Primary Open-Angle GlaucomaInvestigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 2011
- Retinal Oxygen Saturation in Patients with Systemic HypoxemiaInvestigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 2011
- Mechanisms of neuronal dysfunction and degeneration in multiple sclerosisProgress in Neurobiology, 2011
- Colour Doppler imaging evaluation of blood flow parameters in the ophthalmic artery in acute and chronic phases of optic neuritis in multiple sclerosisActa Ophthalmologica, 2009
- The social impact of multiple sclerosis - a study of 305 patients and their relativesDisability and Rehabilitation, 2000
- The North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy TrialStroke, 1999
- Cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis.Neurology, 1991