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Optical coherence tomography: a window into the brain of schizophrenic patients
Author(s) -
CABEZON L,
ASCASO F,
RAMIRO P,
QUINTANILLA MA,
GUTIERREZ L,
LOBO A,
CRISTOBAL JA
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2012.t123.x
Subject(s) - nerve fiber layer , ophthalmology , medicine , optical coherence tomography , mann–whitney u test , retinal , quadrant (abdomen) , optic disk , optic nerve , surgery
Abstract Purpose Our study aims to assess peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, macular thickness and volume, and optic nerve head (ONH) measurements in patients affected by schizophrenia Methods 30 schizophrenic patients (mean age 44.5 +/‐ 10.9 years) were enrolled. They were compared with 30 age‐matched controls. In all subjects, peripapillary RNFL thickness, ONH measurements, macular thickness and volume were measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT). The eye studied was the right eye Results Schizophrenic patients showed an statistically significant reduction of the overall peripapillary RNFL thickness (95.1+/‐ 13.4 µm) compared with those values observed in control eyes (103.3+/‐9.0 µm) (p=0.008, Student t test). We also observed reduced peripapillary RNFL thickness in superior quadrant in schizophrenic patients (114.7+/‐18.0 µm) when compared with controls (127.3+/‐ 14.4 µm) (p=0.004, Student t test). Cup/disk area ratio (cases: 0.45 +/‐ 0.31; controls: 0.26 +/‐ 0.27 p=0.002, Mann‐Whitney U test), cup/disk horizontal ratio (cases: 0.67 +/‐ 0.22; controls: 0.48 +/‐ 0.23 p=0.003, Student t test), cup/disk vertical ratio (cases: 0.60 +/‐ 0.24; controls: 0.44 +/‐ 0.23 p=0.003, Mann‐Whitney U test) and cup area (cases: 1.32 +/‐ 1.09; controls: 0.73 +/‐ 0.82 p=0.001, Mann‐Whitney U test) were statistically increased in schizophrenic patients. Conclusion Schizophrenia patients showed a reduction in peripapillary RNFL thickness evaluated by OCT and an increase in some measurements of ONH. These findings suggest that as previously observed in neurodegenerative disorders, neuronal degeneration could be present in the