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Analysis of central retinal and choroidal morphology and thickness after photodynamic therapy for idiopathic choroidal neovascularization

Objective To observe the retinal and choroidal changes in morphology and thickness after photodynamic therapy(PDT) for idiopathic choroidal neovascularization(ICNV). Methods Sixteen eyes of 16 patients with ICNV were treated with verteporfin PDT. 16 eyes of 16 agematched normal subjects were observed for the purpose of comparison. The best corrected visual acuity(BCVA) was checked before and 1, 3 and 6 months after PDT treatment. Enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) technique was used to measure central retinal thickness (CRT) and central choroidal thickness(CCT). The correlations between BCVA and CRT, CCT were analyzed by Pearson statistical anallyses. Results BCVA was improved at 1, 3 and 6 months after PDT, and the difference had statistical significance compared with that before treatment (F=3.08,P=0.030). There was edema in the retina at 1 month after PDT. CNV in 13 eyes became fibrotic at 3 months after PDT, and all became fibrotic at 6 months after PDT. The reflex of choroid correspond to CNV was weak at 1, 3 and 6 months after PDT. CRT decreased at 1, 3 and 6 months after PDT (F=8.946,P=0.000). The difference was statistically significant between the CRT of control group and that 1 months after PDT (P=0.001), but there was no statistically significant difference between the CRT of control group and that 3 and 6 months after PDT（P=0.128, 0.083）. The CCT group had no statistically significant difference before and 1, 3 and 6 months after PDT (F=1.674, P=0.170). The CCT group also had no statistically significant differences between the control group and 1, 3 and 6 months after PDT (P=0.186, 0.551, 0.98). The BCVA was inversely correlated with CRT and CCT, and the correlation had no statistical significance (r=－0.051,－0.164;P=0.739,0.283). Conclusions PDT may improve BCVA in ICNV. Retinal edema resolves, CRT decreases, but CCT had almost no changes after PDT.

Better understanding retinal and choroidal vascular diseases with optical coherence tomography angiography

Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is a new and non-invasive imaging technique that is able to detect blood flow signal in the retina and the choroid within seconds. OCTA is different from the traditional angiography methods. The major advantages of OCTA are that it can observe blood flow signal in different layers of the retina and the choroid without injecting any dye, provide blood flow information that traditional angiography cannot provide, and enrich pathophysiological knowledge of the retinal and choroidal vascular diseases., which help us to make an accurate diagnosis and efficient evaluation of these diseases. However there is a large upgrade potential either on OCTA technique itself or on clinical application of OCTA. We need to fully understand the advantage and disadvantage, and differences of OCTA and traditional angiography. We also need to know how to interpret the result of OCTA. With that we could make a fast diagnosis in a non-invasive way and improve our knowledge of the retinal and choroidal vascular diseases.

Relationship of shallow optic cup and small disc with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic nerupathy

　　Objective　To observe the relationship between shallow optic cup，small disc and occurrence in patients with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).Methods　Ninetysix patients（96 diseased eyes）who accorded with the diagnosis criteria for NAION，with duration ge; three months and optic disc edema in paracmasis were selected. The fellow eyes of 96 NAION patients and 80 normal eyes were selected in our study. The horizontal and vertical disc and cup diameters，optic cup depth, and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness were measured by quot;crossquot; and quot;ringquot; scan of optical coherence tomography (OCT，Humphrey 2000，German Carl Zeiss Company) inspection system. The cup depth were classified four grades by cup shape according to OCT images：GradeⅠ，bottom of optic cup above the anterior plane of peripapillary neuroepithelial layer（PNL）；GradeⅡ，bottom of optic cup above the plane of PNL；Grade Ⅲ，bottom of optic cup between the plane of PNL and choroidal pigment epithelium；Grade Ⅳ，bottom of optic cup under the plane of choroidal pigment epithelium connection. The grades of optic cup and value in three groups were statistically analyzed. The follow up ranged from six months to three years.Results　The disc diameter in horizontal scanning of diseased eyes，fellow eyes and normal eyes were (1.29plusmn;0.19), (1.32plusmn;0.17), (1.40plusmn;0.15) mm，and diameters in vertical scanning were (1.52plusmn;0.14), (1.49plusmn;0.17), (1.60plusmn;0.22) mm, respectively. Compared the diseased eyes and fellow eyes with normal eyes，the difference were statistically significant in horizontal scanning (t=4.291,3.315; P＜0.05) and in vertical scanning (t=2.812, 3.654; P＜0.05). Compared the diseased eyes with fellow eyes，the difference of average diameter were not statistically significant in horizontal and vertical scanning (t=1.153,1.335; P＞0.05). Of the diseased eyes，GradeⅠoptic cup in 36 eyes（37.50），Grade Ⅱ-Ⅲoptic cup in 52 eyes（54.17%），Grade Ⅳoptic cup in eight eyes（8.33%），and GradeⅠ-Ⅲ optic cup in 88 eyes（91.67%）were found. Of the fellow eyes，GradeⅠoptic cup in 18 eyes（18.75%），Grade Ⅱ-Ⅲoptic cup in 69 eyes（71.88%），Grade Ⅳoptic cup in nine eyes（9.34%），and GradeⅠ-Ⅲ optic cup in 87 eyes（9066%）were found. Compared the average RNFL thickness of diseased eyes with the fellow eyes and normal eyes，the differences were statistically significant in temporal, upper, nasal, lower quadrant(t=12.862，10.147，15.046，8.180，12.859，9.562，12.174，8.632；P＜0.001). Compared the average RNFL thickness of the fellow eyes and normal eyes，the differences were not statistically significant in all quadrants（t=1.040，1.576，1.062，1.192；P＞0.05）. During the followup，eight eyes with recurrence which optic cup were GradeⅠand Ⅱin diseased eyes；44 eyes（45.8%）occurred NAION. Correlation analysis showed that there was negative correlation between incidence of fellow eye and optic cup depth(t=-0.757, P=0.000). Conclusion　Optic cup and disk in NAION patients are smaller than that in the normal，the anatomical characteristics of shallow cup and small disc was one of the NAION pathogenesis.

Changes of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and its correlation with visual field mean defects in early Parkinson′s disease

　　Objective　To observe the changes of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and its correlation with visual field mean defects（MD）in Parkinsonprime;s disease (PD).Methods　Fifteen eyes of 15 PD patients in early stage and 18 eyes of 18 normal controls undertook RNFL examination by Stratus OCT3. Circular scans (diameter is 3.46 mm) were taken around the optic nerve head including eight quadrants (superior, inferior, temporal, nasal, temporalsuperior, temporalinferior, nasalsuperior and nasalinferior). The RNFL thickness in different quadrants in the two groups was analyzed. The visual field of PD patients was measured by central 302 program of Humphery750 visual field analyzer, and the MD was recorded. The correlation between RNFL thickness and MD was analyzed by linear correlation and regression analysis.Results　RNFL thicknesses of superior, inferior, temporal, nasal, temporalsuperior, temporalinferior, nasalsuperior, nasalinferior and average RNFL thickness in the control group were (132.7plusmn;17.4), (141.5plusmn;15.3) ,（83.2plusmn;17.5）, (83.7plusmn;22.3) ,（120.8plusmn;21.2）, (117.9plusmn;24.5) ,（109.6plusmn;20.6）,（110.2plusmn;27.7）, and（109.9plusmn;8.5）mu;m respectively, while in the PD group they were (128.1plusmn;25.3) , (128.6plusmn;13.2) , (68.7plusmn;13.5) , (76.5plusmn;17.8) ,（102.6plusmn;23.7）, (103.3plusmn;14.1) ,（101.2plusmn;20.9）,（96.6plusmn;15.0）,（102.3plusmn;11.9） mu;m. Compared with each other, the differences of RNFL thickness of inferior, temporal, temporalsuperior, temporalinferior and average RNFL thickness were statistically significant（t=2.595，2.700，2.330，2.153，2.131；P=0.014，0.011，0.026，0.040，0.041）. There was a close negative relationship between average RNFL thickness and MD in PD patients (r=-0.933，P＜0.0001). Conclusions　RNFL thickness was significantly thinner in PD patients than that in the normal controls. There was a negative relationship between RNFL thickness and MD in PD patients.

The status of studies on the treatment and prognosis estimation in idiopathic macular hole

Idiopathic macular hole (IMH) refers to full thickness defects of retina in macular area with no clear reasons. The management of IMH includes vitrectomy combined with internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling and pharmacological vitreolysis. But ILM peeling may damage the inner retina; novel techniques, such as inverted ILM flap technique and foveola non-peeling ILM surgery, autologous ILM transplantation had made the method of ILM peeling more diversified with less damage. Pharmacological vitreolysis targeting fibronectin and laminin is considered to work in a two-step mechanism, involving both vitreoretinal separation and vitreous liquefaction. Furthermore, IMH judgment and prognosis indicators like ellipsoid zone, macular hole index, hole formation factor, diameter hole index and tractional hole index based on spectral domain optical coherence tomography enriched the assessment of macular hole diameter, depth and shape. How to make full use of new interventions to reduce the incidence of macular hole and obtain a better visual acuity with closed holes is an important direction for future research.

Emphasis on the study of correlation between retinal vascular abnormalities and systemic vascular diseases

The abnormalities of retinal vessels such as retinal arteriolar narrowing, arteriovenous nicking, micro-aneurysms, retinal hemorrhages, and cotton wool spot are closely related to systemic diseases including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disorders, stroke and renal diseases. The modern retinal vessels examination technology has features of quick noninvasive, quantitative standardized and intelligent analysis. Taking advantage of these to fully discover the retinal vascular abnormalities and get deeper understanding of the relationship between its' mechanism and systemic vascular diseases is not only helpful to better diagnose and treat retinal vascular diseases, but also contributes to predicting the risk and prognosis of systemic diseases. We suggest emphasizing on the study of correlation between retinal vascular abnormalities and systemic vascular diseases using modern retinal vessels examination technology. It will provide the preventive clue of diseases of circulatory system by finding out the retinopathy. Meanwhile, correctly treating systemic diseases would get a better prognosis of the retinopathy. They exist side by side and play a part together for providing a better prognosis, which would be a new direction for the doctors and scientists in the new era.

Choroidal thickness of chronic central serous chorioretinopathy with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography

Objective To observe the choroidal thickness of patients with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) in affected eyes and unaffected fellow eyes.Methods Forty-five chronic CSC patients diagnosed by fundus pre-set lens, fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and indocyanine green angiography were enrolled in this study. The patients included 36 males and nine females, with a mean age of (46.18plusmn;8.20) years, with a mean duration of (16.34plusmn;7.23) months. Thirty-six patients were affected unilaterally and nine patients affected bilaterally. The patients were divided into affected eyes group (group A, 51 eyes) and unaffected fellow eyes group (group B,39 eyes). Fifty age-, sex- and diopter- matched normal subjects (50 eyes) were enrolled in this study as control group (group C). Enhanced depth imaging (EDI) choroidal scans were obtained in all eyes by using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and choroidal thickness at 3 mm nasal (NCT3 mm), temporal (TCT3 mm), superior (SCT3 mm), inferior (ICT3 mm) to the fovea were measured.Results The mean SFCT of group A, B and C were (436.76plusmn;87.01), (394.71plusmn;61.63), (294.86plusmn;75.30) mu;m respectively. The mean SFCT of group A and B were thicker than group C, the difference was significant among three groups (F=44.791,P＜0.001). There were difference between group A, B, C in NCT3 mm, TCT3 mm, SCT3 mm and ICT3 mm (F=15.816, 22.823, 15.147, 11.527;P＜0.001). The mean SFCT in affected eyes of unilateral patients was (416.34plusmn;79.44) mu;m, which was thicker than that in unaffected fellow eyes (t=2.897, P=0.007). Conclusion Choroidal thickness increased significantly in affected eyes and unaffected fellow eyes in patients with chronic CSC.

日食性视网膜病变三例的光相干断层扫描检查图像特征

Effects of local foveal photoreceptor defect on visual acuity

Objective To observe the effects of local macular foveal photoreceptor defects on visual acuity.Methods Thirty-one patients (31 eyes) with photoreceptor defect in macular fovea (case group) diagnosed by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and 30 patients (30 eyes) age- and diopter- matched normal subjects (control group) were enrolled in this study. There were 22 eyes with full photoreceptor defects and 9 eyes with outer segment defects in case group. All subjects were examined for best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), slit-lamp microscopy, direct ophthalmoscope and SD-OCT. Independent sample t-test was used to compare central foveal thickness (CFT) between case group and control group. Difference of logMAR BCVA, CFT, maximum width and height of photoreceptor defects, defected area and residual retinal thickness in macular between patients with full photoreceptor defects and outer segment defects were also compared.Results The CFT of case group and control group were (225.32plusmn;19.70),(240.02plusmn;10.70) mu;m, the difference was not statistically significant (t=-1.96, P＞0.05). In full photoreceptor defects and outer segment defects patients, the mean logMAR BCVA were 0.22plusmn;0.31, 0.32plusmn;0.43; the mean CFT were (224.09plusmn;20.57), (228.33plusmn;18.17) mu;m; the maximum width of photoreceptor defects were (131.32plusmn;108.18), (143.22plusmn;66.93) mu;m; the mean defected area were (0.022plusmn;0.054), (0.019plusmn;0.019) mm2; the mean maximum height of photoreceptor defects were (77.41plusmn;6.62), (44.89plusmn;4.26) mu;m; the mean residual retinal thickness were (87.00plusmn;20.31), (128.33plusmn;23.54) mu;m respectively. There was no statistical significance between full photoreceptor defects and outer segment defects patients in the mean logMAR BCVA, CFT, maximum width of photoreceptor defects and defected area (t=-0.76, -0.538, -0.305, 0.166; P＞0.05), but there were significant difference in mean maximum width of photoreceptor defects and residual retinal thickness (t=12.72, -4.91;P＜0.05). Conclusions The local photoreceptor defects in macular fovea can lead to decrease of visual acuity. The wider the photoreceptor defects, the worse the visual acuity.

Choroidal thickness of Chinese population and its relevant factors

Objective To observe the choroidal thickness and its relationship with age and refraction status in Chinese population. Methods 180 healthy volunteers (360 eyes) were enrolled in this study. Based on the age, the volunteers were divided into A (20-29 years old), B (30-39 year old), C (40-49 years old), D (50-59 year old), E (60-69 year old), and F (70-85 year old) group, with 33, 31, 29, 30, 31, 26 volunteers respectively. And the volunteers were divided into ＜60 years old group with 123 volunteers and ge; 60 years old group with 57 volunteers. Enhanced depth imaging (EDI) choroidal scans were obtained in all eyes by using spectraldomain optical coherence tomography. Subfoveal choroidal thickness (CT) and CT at 1 mm/3 mm temporal, nasal, superior, inferior to the fovea (S 1 mm, I1 mm, T1 mm, N 1 mm, S, I3 mm, T3 mm, N3 mm) were measured. The differences of CT between different quadrants, genders, eyes and ages were comparatively analyzed. The correlations between age, refraction status and CT in the volunteers of ＜60 years old and ge; 60 years old group were analyzed. Results The subfoveal CT was (262.78plusmn;84.38) mu;m. The differences were significant between subfoveal CT and all the quadrants CT (P＜0.05) except for S1 mm and T1 mm (P＞0.05 ). There was no difference between genders or eyes in subfoveal CT (P＞0.05 ). There was no difference between A, B, C, D group in subfoveal CT (P＞0.05 ). The subfoveal CT of E and F group were thinner than A, B, C, D group (P＜0.05). In the ＜60 years old group, there was a positive correlation between refraction status and CT (r=0.147,P＜0.05); but no correlation between age and CT (r=－0.055, P＞0.05 ). In the ge; 60 years old group, there was a significant negative correlation between CT and age (r=－0.543, P＜0.05), but no correlation between refraction status and CT (r=-0.008, P＞0.05). Conclusions The average subfoveal CT in Chinese population was (262.78plusmn;84.38) mu;m. The refraction status is the main influence factors in subjects ＜60 years old, while the age is the main influence factors in subjects ge;60 years old.