title: A quantitative evaluation of the posterior segment of the eye using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in carotid artery stenosis: a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the posterior segment of the eye using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in patients with internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study enrolling 25 patients with ICA stenosis (study group) and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals (control group). Macular choroidal thickness (CT) was measured at the fovea; other CT measurements were taken 1,000 µm away from the fovea in the nasal, temporal, superior, and inferior regions by enhanced-depth imaging OCT (EDI-OCT). The thicknesses of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), macula, and ganglion cell complex (GCC) were measured with SD-OCT. Correlations between the CT values and the degree of ICA stenosis were also evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean macular CT values in the study group were significantly thinner than those of the control groups for all quadrants (P < .05). There was no significant correlation between the degree of ICA stenosis and the CT values. Moreover, the mean thicknesses of the RNFL, macula, and GCC did not differ between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that CT decreases in patients with ICA stenosis compared with age-matched healthy individuals, whereas the RNFL, macular, and GCC thicknesses are comparable.
authors.forename: Nihat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sayin
authors.forename: Necip
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kara
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Uzun
authors.forename: Ibrahim Faruk
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Akturk
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000473:pathology*; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002829:Choroid / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000473:pathology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D057972:Posterior Eye Segment / Q000473:pathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011859:Radiography; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000473:pathology; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence