Mapping cortical thickness of the patients with unilateral end-stage open angle glaucoma on planar cerebral cortex maps.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate and compare cerebral cortex thickness in patients with unilateral end-stage glaucoma with that of age-matched individuals with unaffected vision.


METHODS
14 patients with unilateral end-stage primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and 12 age-matched control individuals with no problems with vision were selected for the study based on detailed ophthalmic examination. For each participant 3D high-resolution structural brain T1-weighted magnetization prepared MR images were acquired on a 3.0 T scanner. Brain cortex thickness was estimated using the FreeSurfer image analysis environment. After warping of subjects' cortical surfaces to FreeSurfer common space, differences between POAG and control groups were inferred at the group analysis level with the General Linear Model.


RESULTS
The analysis performed revealed local thinning in the visual cortex areas in the POAG group. Statistically significant differences form 600 mm2 clusters located in the Brodmann area BA19 in the left and right hemisphere.


CONCLUSIONS
Unilateral vision loss due to end-stage neuropathy from POAG is associated with significant thinning of cortical areas employed in vision.
Institute of Radioelectronics, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland; Department of Experimental Pharmacology, Medical Research Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Piotr
P
Bogorodzki
Institute of Radioelectronics, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland.
Ewa
E
Piątkowska-Janko
Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, SPKSO Ophthalmic University Hospital, Warsaw, Poland.
Jerzy
J
Szaflik
Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, SPKSO Ophthalmic University Hospital, Warsaw, Poland.
Jacek Paweł
JP
Szaflik
Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, SPKSO Ophthalmic University Hospital, Warsaw, Poland.
Mira
M
Gacek
Department of Experimental Pharmacology, Medical Research Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Paweł
P
Grieb
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*