Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease: Novel Findings and New Insights into the Pathogenesis

Objective To provide novel spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD OCT) findings of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease as well as new insights into the pathogenesis of this disease. Methods Detailed SD OCT and fluorescein angiography (FA) findings of 18 consecutive VKH patients (11 women and 7 men) from December 2007 to April 2009 who were in acute uveitic stage at presentation were reviewed. All the patients had been followed up for at least 6 months with reevaluation(s) of SD OCT performed in 10 patients. Results Intraretinal cysts were found to be located in various layers of the outer retina. In addition to the photoreceptor layer, they could also be found between the outer plexiform layer and the outer nuclear layer, or spanning the external limiting membrane. On FA, intraretinal cysts could be hypofluorescent, normofluorescent, or hyperfluorescent. Some intraretinal cysts had a characteristic FA pattern, in which a small round hypofluorescent area was surrounded by a ring of hyperfluorescence (donut-shaped dye pooling). Subretinal fibrinoid deposit appeared in acute uveitic stage in two severe VKH patients and seemed to develop from subretinal exudates and evolved into typical subretinal fibrosis. Gradual transfiguration/migration and progressive proliferation/pigmentation of the subretinal fibrinoid deposit/subretinal fibrosis was observed in one patient. Conclusions Intraretinal cysts could form in various layers of the outer retina and may result from extension of choroidal inflammation. Subretinal fibrosis may develop from subretinal exudates in VKH patients and may cause substantial visual impairment.

Spectral domain optical coherence tomography crosssectional image of optic nerve head during intraocular pressure elevation

AIM: To analyze changes of the optic nerve head(ONH) and peripapillary region during intraocular pressure(IOP) elevation in patients using spectral domain optical coherence tomography(SD-OCT).METHODS: Both an optic disc 200×200 cube scan and a high-definition 5-line raster scan were obtained from open angle glaucoma patients presented with monocular elevation of IOP(≥30 mm Hg) using SD-OCT. Additional baseline characteristics included age, gender, diagnosis,best-corrected visual acuity, refractive error, findings of slit lamp biomicroscopy, findings of dilated stereoscopic examination of the ONH and fundus, IOP, pachymetry findings, and the results of visual field.RESULTS: The 24 patients were selected and divided into two groups: group 1 patients had no history of IOP elevation or glaucoma(n =14), and group 2 patients did have history of IOP elevation or glaucoma(n =10). In each patient, the study eye with elevated IOP was classified into group H(high), and the fellow eye was classified into group L(low). The mean deviation(MD)differed significantly between groups H and L when all eyes were considered(P =0.047) and in group 2(P =0.042), not in group 1(P =0.893). Retinal nerve fiber layer(RNFL) average thickness(P =0.050), rim area(P =0.015),vertical cup/disc ratio(P =0.011), cup volume(P =0.028),inferior quadrant RNFL thickness(P =0.017), and clockhour(1, 5, and 6) RNFL thicknesses(P =0.050, 0.012, and0.018, respectively), cup depth(P =0.008), central prelaminar layer thickness(P =0.023), mid-inferior prelaminar layer thickness(P =0.023), and nasal retinal slope(P =0.034)were significantly different between the eyes with groups H and L.CONCLUSION:RNFLaveragethickness,rim area,vertical cup/disc ratio, cup volume, inferior quadrant RNFL thickness, and clock-hour(1, 5, and 6) RNFL thicknesses significantly changed during acute IOP elevation.

Microperimetry and spectral domain optical coherence tomography in myelinated retinal nerve fibers

Dear Sir,I write to present the correlation between microperimetric （MP） values and the density of myelinated retinal nerve fibers （MNFs） in optical coherence tomography （OCT） imaging.

Comment on “The diurnal variation pattern of choroidal thickness in macular region of young healthy female individuals using spectral domain optical coherence tomography”

Dear Editor,We have read and reviewed the article entitled＂The diurnal variation pattern of choroidal thickness in macular region of young healthy female individuals using spectral domain optical coherence tomography＂by Zhao et al^（[1]）with great interest.

Central choroidal thickness in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders:enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography findings

AIM:To measure the central choroidal thickness(ChT)in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders.METHODS:Totally 41 anxiety patients(8-16 y)and 35 healthy controls(age-matched)were evaluated.Complete ophthalmic examination was performed.Inclusion criteria were best corrected visual acuity≥20/20,normal intraocular pressure(IOP;10-21 mm Hg),and no systemic or ocular diseases according to history.The diagnosis of psychiatric disorders was determined using Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children Present-Lifetime Version(K-SADS-PL).Enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography(EDI-OCT)was used to measure the central ChT.RESULTS:The mean age was 12.18±3.24 y in the patient group and 12.86±3.15 y in the control group.Age and gender distribution of the two groups was similar.Central ChT mean value was 353.26±31.9μm in anxiety patients while 318.75±60.9μm in the control group.Mean central ChT was statistically significantly higher in the children and adolescents with anxiety disorders than healthy controls(P=0.002).CONCLUSION:The children and adolescents with anxiety disorders have significantly thicker central ChT than controls.In the larger sample,longitudinal studies will contribute to the use of choroidal differences as a clinical marker for monitoring anxiety disorders.

Comparison of central corneal thickness measurements with three new optical devices and a standard ultrasonic pachymeter

AIM:To compare the RTVue spectral optical coherence tomography(SD-OCT),Sirius Scheimpflug-Placido topographer,Lenstar optical low coherence reflectometry(OLCR)and ultrasound pachymetry(USP)devices in terms of their agreement and repeatability of measuring central corneal thickness(CCT).METHODS:In this prospective study,50 eyes of 50patients were included.Three repeated measures were obtained using SD-OCT,Scheimpflug-Placido topographer and USP and five measurements were determined with the OLCR.Bland-Altman plots were used to assess agreement among the instruments,and 95%limits of agreement(LoA)for each comparison were calculated.Intra-examiner repeatability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients(ICCs).RESULTS:The mean CCT by SD-OCT,ScheimpflugPlacido topographer,OLCR,and USP were 525.90±34.08μm,525.92±34.10μm,530.30±35.62μm,and543.50±37.11μm respectively.All 4 modalities of CCT measurements correlated closely with each other,with Pearson correlation coefficients ranging from 0.977 to0.995.The mean differences(and upper/lower LoA)for CCT measurements were-0.05±6.77μm(13.3/-13.3)between SD-OCT and Scheimpflug-Placido topographer,4.38±3.79μm(11.8/-3.1)between OLCR and SD-OCT,4.38±6.03μm(16.2/-7.5)between OLCR and ScheimpflugPlacido topographer,13.20±6.46μm(25.9/0.5)between USP and OLCR,17.59±6.76μm(30.8/4.3)between USP and SD-OCT,and 17.58±8.13μm(33.5/1.6)between USP and Scheimpflug-Placido topographer.Intra-examiner repeatability was excellent for all devices with ICCs】0.98.CONCLUSION:For most practical purposes,CCT measurements with the RTVue,Sirius and Lenstar can be used interchangeably.Although highly correlated,CCTmeasurement differences between USP and these 3optical instruments can be significant depending on the clinical situation.

Numerical Study on Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Spectral Calibration and Re-Sampling Importance

A spectral calibration technique, a data processing method and the importance of calibration and re-sampling methods for the spectral domain optical coherence tomography system were numerically studied, targeted to optical coherence tomography （OCT） signal processing implementation under graphics processing unit （GPU） architecture. Accurately, assigning the wavelength to each pixel of the detector is of paramount importance to obtain high quality images and increase signal to noise ratio （SNR）. High quality imaging can be achieved by proper calibration methods, here performed by phase calibration and interpolation. SNR was assessed employing two approaches, single spectrum moving window averaging and consecutive spectra data averaging, to investigate the optimized method and factor for background noise reduction. It was demonstrated that the consecutive spectra averaging had better SNR performance.

Macular ganglion cell complex injury in different stages of anterior ischemic optic neuropathy

BACKGROUND Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy(AION)is a group of ophthalmic diseases in which the optic nerve is injured causing blindness.However,the pathogenesis,clinical manifestations,and clinical treatments of AION are yet elusive.Only a few related experimental or clinical reports are available on the disease.In this study,spectral domain optical coherence tomography(SD-OCT)was used to examine the morphology of thickness swelling and atrophic changes of macular ganglion cell complex(mGCC)in the different stages of AION that were then compared with the visual fields.Thus,the clinical value of mGCC examination was alleged to be similar to that of the visual field.AIM To explore the mGCC injury at different stages in AION and the clinical significance.METHODS Cases with AION were analyzed in a retrospective study.SD-OCT was used to analyze the correlation between mGCC and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thicknesses at different stages of AION and the changes in the corresponding stages of visual fields.RESULTS A total of 21 cases(28 eyes)presented AION.The onset time of AION was defined as early stage(within 3 wk of onset),middle stage(from 3 wk to 2 mo),and late stage(disease span>2 mo).In the early stage,the mGCC thickness of SD-OCT was within the normal high limit,and the perioptic nerve fibers thickness was more than the normal.The changes in the visual field in early stage were not consistent with the swelling changes in mGCC and peri-disc nerve fibers.In addition,atrophy and thinning appeared in mGCC,and the perioptic nerve fibers were swollen.However,the thickness was lower in the middle period than that in the early stage.The change in visual field was consistent with that of mGCC in this period.In the late stage,mGCC shrank and thinned,and the thickness of the nerve fibers around the optic disc in the corresponding region shrank and thinned.CONCLUSION The changes in mGCC thickness in patients with AION showed early,middle,and late stages of development by SD-OCT.Although the early stage visual field changes of AION were not consistent with the swelling changes of mGCC,the horizontal delimitation or annular atrophy of mGCC was consistent with that in the middle and late stage of the disease.The atrophy of peripheral nerve fibers was later than that of the mGCC atrophy.

Comparisons of ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer loss patterns and its diagnostic performance between normal tension glaucoma and primary open angle glaucoma: a detailed, severity-based study

AIM: To evaluate the patterns of macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer(GCIPL) loss in normal tension glaucoma(NTG) and primary open angle glaucoma(POAG) in a detailed, disease severity-matched way;and to assess the diagnostic capabilities of GCIPL thickness parameters in discriminating NTG or POAG from normal subjects.METHODS: A total of 157 eyes of 157 subjects, including 57 normal eyes, 51 eyes with POAG and 49 eyes with NTG were enrolled and strictly matched in age, refraction, and disease severity between POAG and NTG groups. The average, minimum, superotemporal, superior, superonasal, inferonasal, inferior, and inferotemporal GCIPL thickness, and the average, superior, temporal, inferior, and nasal retinal nerve fiber layer(RNFL) thickness were obtained by Cirrus optical coherence tomography(OCT). The diagnostic capabilities of OCT parameters were assessed by area under receiver operating characteristic(AUROC) curves. RESULTS: Among all the OCT thickness parameters, no statistical significant difference between NTG group and POAG group was found(all P>0.05). In discriminating NTG or POAG from normal subjects, the average and inferior RNFL thickness, and the minimum GCIPL thickness had better diagnostic capabilities. There was no significant difference in AUROC curve between the best GCIPL thickness parameter(minimum GCIPL) and the best RNFL thickness parameter in discriminating NTG(inferior RNFL;P=0.076) and indiscriminating POAG(average RNFL;P=0.913) from normal eyes.CONCLUSION: Localized GCIPL loss, especially in the inferior and inferotemporal sectors, is more common in NTG than in POAG. Among all the GCIPL thickness parameters, the minimum GCIPL thickness has the best diagnostic performance in differentiating NTG or POAG from normal subjects, which is comparable to that of the average and inferior RNFL thickness.

Automated segmentation of intraretinal cystoid macular edema based on Gaussian mixture model

We introduce a method based on Gaussian mixture model(GMM)clustering and level-set to automatically detect intraretina fluid on diabetic retinopathy(DR)from spectral domain optical coherence tomography(SD-OCT)images in this paper.First,each B-scan is segmented using GMM clustering.The original chustering results are refined using location and thickness infor-mation.Then,the spatial information among every consecutive five B-scans is used to search potential fluid.Finally,the improved level-set method is used to obtain the accurate boundaries.The high sensitivity and accuracy demonstrated here show its potential for detection of fluid.

Temporal retinal thinning might be an early diagnostic indicator in male pediatric X-linked Alport syndrome

AIM: To evaluate temporal retinal thinning changes in retinal layers using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography(SD-OCT) in pediatric X-linked Alport syndrome(XLAS) patients.METHODS: A retrospective case-control study. SDOCT scans of pediatric patients diagnosed with XLAS and age-and sex-matched healthy control participants were reviewed. Automated segmentation of SD-OCT scans was induced to analyze the retinal thickness(RT) of different layers. The temporal thinning index(TTI) was calculated for each layer and compared between the patients and the control group.RESULTS: Forty-three pediatric XLAS patients and 60 healthy controls were included. Temporal retinal thinning was present in 33 patients(76.74%), while 28 patients(65.11%) had severe pathological temporal retinal thinning and 5 patients(11.63%) had moderate thinning. The temporal inner sector RT(P<0.0001), the temporal outer sector RT(P<0.0001), and the nasal outer sector RT(P=0.0211) were significantly thinner in the XLAS male patients. The TTI of the total retina was significantly higher in the XLAS group than in the control group(P<0.0001). The TTI of the inner retina layers(P<0.0001), ganglion cell layer(P<0.0001), inner plexiform layer(P<0.0001), inner nuclear layer(P<0.0001), and outer nuclear layer(P<0.0001) were significantly higher in the XLAS group. The central RT of the XLAS group was significantly thinner than that of the control group(P<0.0001).CONCLUSION: Temporal retinal thinning appears early in XLAS patients, especially in male patients. The thinningis mainly caused by structural abnormalities of the inner retina. This suggests that temporal retinal thinning could be helpful for the early diagnosis and follow-up of XLAS with noninvasive SD-OCT examination.

Effect of vitamin B12 deficiency anemia on peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer

AIM:To evaluate the effect of vitamin B12 deficiency anemia(BDA)on peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness(RNFLT)using spectral domain optical coherence tomography(SD-OCT),and to determine any correlation arising thereof.METHODS:In this cross-sectional observational study,99 eyes of 50 BDA patients of age 18-65 y were compared with 100 eyes of 50 healthy control subjects.All subjects underwent comprehensive clinical,ophthalmic,and hematological evaluation,followed by peripapillary RNFLT assessment using SD-OCT.RESULTS:The mean total,inferior,nasal,and temporal RNFLT were significantly lower in BDA group as compared to control group(P<0.05).The mean total,inferior and nasal RNFLT correlated significantly(P<0.05)with serum Hb%,B12 and mean corpuscular volume(MCV)level(r=0.310,0.435,-0.386 for total;r=0.932,0.481,-0.513 for inferior;r=0.344,0.254,-0.233 for nasal;respectively),while temporal and superior RNFLT quadrant did not show any correlation with any of the hematological parameters(r=0.144,0.167,-0.096;r=0.111,0.070,-0.099;respectively).The mean total RNFLT showed progressive thinning at par with the progression of anemia,except in very severe BDA,where an inverse relationship was documented.CONCLUSION:The mean total,inferior,nasal,and temporal peripapillary RNFLT was significantly thinner in BDA patients.Peripapillary RNFLT thinning seemed to proceed at par with the progression of severity of anemia,except in very sever grade.Early assessment of peripapillary RNFLT may be crucial in BDA patients to prevent potential blinding sequelae.Peripapillary RNFLT thinning in BDA patients should be considered in the differential diagnosis of other non-glaucomatous optic neuropathies,as well.