BACKGROUND: Acute monosymptomatic optic neuritis (ON) may be the earliest manifestation of multiple sclerosis (MS). Atrophy has been shown to be a prominent feature of MS with great impact on disability. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to evaluate retinal and brain atrophy and possible associations at the earliest possible stages of MS. METHODS: In a prospective observational cohort study we included 60 untreated patients with monosymptomatic ON and 19 healthy volunteers. Unaffected fellow eyes were examined with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and normalized brain volumes were calculated based on MRI. Additionally, visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were recorded. RESULTS: Neither OCT measurements nor brain volume measures revealed signs of localized or generalized atrophy in patients compared with healthy volunteers. Stratification of patients into high risk based on the presence of white matter lesions did not reveal differences. The association between OCT measures and brain volumes previously found could not be confirmed at the time of the first clinical event. VEP latency was significantly prolonged in patients with white matter lesions compared to those without lesions. A trend towards a relationship between VEP amplitude of fellow eyes and brain volumes was noted. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort we were not able to show atrophic features in the retina or the brain, and the association between structural measures of the retina and the brain as indicated in the later stages of MS could not be reproduced. These findings suggest that atrophy does require time to evolve and indicate the complexity of the relationship between local and general structural measures.
BACKGROUND: Acute monosymptomatic optic neuritis (ON) may be the earliest manifestation of multiple sclerosis (MS). Atrophy has been shown to be a prominent feature of MS with great impact on disability. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to evaluate retinal and brain atrophy and possible associations at the earliest possible stages of MS. METHODS: In a prospective observational cohort study we included 60 untreated patients with monosymptomatic ON and 19 healthy volunteers. Unaffected fellow eyes were examined with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and normalized brain volumes were calculated based on MRI. Additionally, visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were recorded. RESULTS: Neither OCT measurements nor brain volume measures revealed signs of localized or generalized atrophy in patients compared with healthy volunteers. Stratification of patients into high risk based on the presence of white matter lesions did not reveal differences. The association between OCT measures and brain volumes previously found could not be confirmed at the time of the first clinical event. VEP latency was significantly prolonged in patients with white matter lesions compared to those without lesions. A trend towards a relationship between VEP amplitude of fellow eyes and brain volumes was noted. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort we were not able to show atrophic features in the retina or the brain, and the association between structural measures of the retina and the brain as indicated in the later stages of MS could not be reproduced. These findings suggest that atrophy does require time to evolve and indicate the complexity of the relationship between local and general structural measures.
Authors: Hanna G Zimmermann; Benjamin Knier; Timm Oberwahrenbrock; Janina Behrens; Catherina Pfuhl; Lilian Aly; Miriam Kaminski; Muna-Miriam Hoshi; Svenja Specovius; René M Giess; Michael Scheel; Mark Mühlau; Judith Bellmann-Strobl; Klemens Ruprecht; Bernhard Hemmer; Thomas Korn; Friedemann Paul; Alexander U Brandt Journal: JAMA Neurol Date: 2018-09-01 Impact factor: 18.302
Authors: Jeffrey M Gelfand; Douglas S Goodin; W John Boscardin; Rachel Nolan; Ami Cuneo; Ari J Green Journal: PLoS One Date: 2012-05-23 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Fahmy Aboulenein-Djamshidian; Martin Krššák; Nermin Serbecic; Helmut Rauschka; Sven Beutelspacher; Ivica Just Kukurová; Ladislav Valkovič; Adnan Khan; Daniela Prayer; Wolfgang Kristoferitsch Journal: PLoS One Date: 2015-11-13 Impact factor: 3.240