title: Correlation between lateral geniculate nucleus atrophy and damage to the optic disc in glaucoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between morphological changes in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), as measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and damage to the optic disc in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 23 patients with POAG and 23 age- and gender-matched non-glaucomatous subjects were enrolled. Every patient had structural damage to the optic disc. Cup-to-disc ratio (CDR) and retinal nerve ﬁber layer thickness (RNFLT) were measured, and 3.0-Tesla MRI examinations performed. Bilateral LGNs were identified and manually extracted, and their maximum heights and volumes compared with the clinical damage to the optic disc.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In POAG patients, morphological changes in LGNs and RNFLT were consistently varied (P<0.05), while a negative correlation between LGN measurements and CDR was observed (P<0.05). LGN height was more signiﬁcantly correlated with damage to the optic disc than was LGN volume. In contrast, no signiﬁcant correlation was found between morphological changes in LGNs and age or optic disc parameters in the non-glaucomatous controls (P>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LGN atrophy in POAG patients was altered in a manner consistent with damage to the optic disc. Morphological changes in LGNs as measured by MRI and especially LGN maximum height may be useful ways to detect optic nerve neuropathy in glaucoma.
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430030 Wuhan, China.
authors: Zhiqi
authors: Z
authors: Chen
authors: Junming
authors: J
authors: Wang
authors: Fuchun
authors: F
authors: Lin
authors: Hui
authors: H
authors: Dai
authors: Ketao
authors: K
authors: Mu
authors: Hong
authors: H
authors: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D001284:Atrophy; D005260:Female; D005829:Geniculate Bodies / Q000473:pathology*; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009901:Optic Nerve Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Glaucoma; Lateral geniculate nucleus; Magnetic resonance imaging