Christopher A Turski1,2, Gabrielle N Turski2,3, Jennifer Faber2,4, Stefan J Teipel5,6, Frank G Holz7, Thomas Klockgether2,4, Robert P Finger7. 1. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA. 2. German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany. 3. Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA. 4. Department of Neurology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. 5. Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany. 6. German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Rostock, Germany. 7. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
We thank Dr. Tensini and colleagues
for their interest in and appreciation of our study describing concurrent retinal microvascular and structural changes in degenerative ataxias shown by optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography (OCT‐A) and OCT.In the previous study, Tensini et al.
compared disease‐specific effects on retinal morphology in spinocerebellar ataxia types 3 and 10 using OCT. In our study, we used OCT in parallel with OCT‐A to assess alterations of retinal microvasculature and morphology simultaneously. We studied a mixed population of patients with spinocerebellar ataxia types 1, 2, 3, and 6, with Friedreich's ataxia, and with multiple system atrophy of cerebellar type. Our study showed changes in retinal vessel density in the superficial vascular complex primarily involving the radial peripapillary capillary network, the capillary density inside the optic nerve head, and the nasal region of the macular superficial vascular plexus in most patients with ataxia across all studied diseases.
The limited size of each disease group did not allow for the detailed assessment of disease‐specific alterations. Nevertheless, we fully agree with Dr. Tensini and coworkers
that disease‐specific changes might be expected for retinal microvasculature, because they have been found for retinal morphology. In our ongoing studies, we are attempting to define such specific microvascular abnormalities in single genetically determined ataxia entities.We would like to thank Dr. Tensini and colleagues
for their greatly considered comments and would like to emphasize the view that adding retinal phenotyping could potentially open a new field of research toward exploring degenerative ataxias from a different perspective.
Author Roles
(1) Research Project: A. Conception, B. Organization, C. Execution;(2) Manuscript: A. Writing of the First Draft, B. Review and Critique.C.A.T.: 1A, 1B, 1C, 2AG.N.T.: 1A, 1B, 1C, 2AJ.F.: 2BS.J.T.: 2BF.G.H.: 2BT.K.: 1A, 2BR.P.F.: 2B