Optical Coherence Tomography and Subclinical Optical Neuritis in Longitudinally Extensive Transverse Myelitis

Prakash Kumar Sinha; Deepika Joshi; Virendra Pratap Singh; Sujit Deshmukh; Usha Singh; Abhishek Pathak; Vijay Nath Mishra; Rameshwar Nath Chaurasia; Vivek Sharda; Garima Gupta

doi:10.4103/aian.AIAN_170_17

Optical Coherence Tomography and Subclinical Optical Neuritis in Longitudinally Extensive Transverse Myelitis

Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2017 Oct-Dec;20(4):358-362. doi: 10.4103/aian.AIAN_170_17.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, IMS, BHU, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
² Department of Ophthalmology, IMS, BHU, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
³ Department of Pathology, IMS, BHU, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Abstract

Objective: The aim is to compare the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness of longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM) eyes without previous optic neuritis with that of healthy control subjects.

Methods: Over 20 LETM eyes and 20 normal control eyes were included in the study and subjected to optical coherence tomography to evaluate and compare the RNFL thickness.

Result: Significant RNFL thinning was observed at 8 o'clock position in LETM eyes as compared to the control eyes (P = 0.038). No significant differences were seen in other RNFL measurements.

Conclusion: Even in the absence of previous optic neuritis LETM can lead to subclinical axonal damage leading to focal RNFL thinning.

Keywords: Multiple sclerosis; neuromyelitis optica; optic neuritis; optical coherence tomography; transverse myelitis.