Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness changes in Parkinson disease: a meta-analysis.
BACKGROUND
Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative process that leads to a selective loss of dopaminergic neurons, mainly in the basal ganglia of the brain. Numerous studies have analyzed the ability of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to detect retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness abnormalities and changes in PD, but the results have not always been consistent. Therefore, we carried out a meta-analysis to evaluate the RNFL thickness measured with OCT in PD.


RESULTS
Case-control studies were selected through an electronic search of the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, PUBMED and EMBASE. For the continuous outcomes, we calculated the weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI). The statistical analysis was performed by RevMan 5.0 software. Thirteen case-control studies were included in the present meta-analysis, containing a total of 644 eyes in PD patients and 604 eyes in healthy controls. The results of our study showed that there was a significant reduction in average RNFL thickness in patients with PD compared to healthy controls (WMD = -5.76, 95% CI: -8.99 to -2.53, P = 0.0005). Additionally, differences of RNFL thickness in superior quadrant (WMD = -4.44, 95% CI: -6.93 to -1.94, P = 0.0005), inferior quadrant (WMD = -7.56, 95% CI: -11.33 to -3.78, P<0.0001), nasal quadrant (WMD = -3.12, 95% CI: -5.63 to -0.61, P = 0.01) and temporal quadrant (WMD = -4.63, 95% CI: -7.20 to -2.06, P = 0.0004) were all significant between the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
In view of these results and the noninvasive nature of OCT technology, we surmise that OCT could be a useful tool for evaluating the progression of the Parkinson disease.


BACKGROUND
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01928212.
Department of Ophthalmology, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Ji-Guo
JG
Yu
Department of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Yi-Fan
YF
Feng
Department of Ophthalmology, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Yi
Y
Xiang
The Affiliated Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, China.
Jin-Hai
JH
Huang
G.B. Bietti Eye Foundation-IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Giacomo
G
Savini
G.B. Bietti Eye Foundation-IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Vincenzo
V
Parisi
Department of Ophthalmology, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Wan-Ju
WJ
Yang
Department of Ophthalmology, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Xun-An
XA
Fu
D000368:Aged; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D059290:Dopaminergic Neurons / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000473:pathology*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence