To compare the thicknesses of each retinal layer in patients with clinically unilateral pseudoexfoliation syndrome (XFS) versus unaffected fellow eyes and healthy age-matched controls.
Methods
In this cross-sectional study, a complete ophthalmologic evaluation, including intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement, was performed in 40 patients with unilateral XFS-affected and 43 healthy controls. After confirming that fellow eyes were clinically unaffected, all eyes underwent the retinal layer segmentation analysis using enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (EDI SD-OCT). The thickness maps were divided into nine subfields (i.e., 1-mm, 3-mm, and 6-mm grids) using the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) and were extracted from the software to compare the groups.
Results
In the 1-mm central subfield, thicknesses of the ganglion cell layer (GCL), inner plexiform layer (IPL), and inner retinal layer (IRL) were significantly reduced both in XFS-affected and fellow eyes than in controls. Additionally, the thicknesses of the inner nuclear layer (INL) and outer plexiform layer (OPL) were significantly reduced in fellow eyes compared to controls. Comparison of XFS-affected versus fellow eyes in the 1-mm central subfield showed no significant differences in GCL, IPL, IRL, INL, and OPL thicknesses (p > 0.05, for all; Tukey HSD test). In ETDRS subfields, 3-mm temporal and 3-mm inferior IPL thicknesses of fellow eyes and 6-mm temporal INL thickness in XFS-affected eyes were reduced compared to controls (p < 0.05, for all).
Conclusion
In clinically unilateral XFS, the consequential thinning of retinal layers in the fellow eye accompanies the significant thinning of retinal layers in the affected eye.
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