title: Brain imaging in glaucoma from clinical studies to clinical practice.
abstract: Recent advances in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology have brought new insight in central nervous system (CNS) manifestation of glaucoma. New MR techniques allowed to identify in vivo and noninvasively alterations along all the visual pathway in both early and late stages of the disease. Conventional neuroimaging still plays an important role, mostly in the anatomy description and in the differential diagnosis with space occupying lesions but it should be supported by other advanced MR techniques such as diffusion tensor imaging, functional imaging (BOLD-ASL), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which offer the possibility to investigate deep white matter tracts integrity and cortical gray matter changes. In a future perspective, MR quantification of CNS damage associated with glaucoma will be of pivotal importance for prognostic stratification and evaluation of neuroprotective therapy response.
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Imaging section, Tor Vergata University Hospital, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Altobelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy; Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Toschi
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mancino
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nucci
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy; IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy.
authors.forename: Orazio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Schillaci
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Imaging section, Tor Vergata University Hospital, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy; Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Floris
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Imaging Section, Tor Vergata University Hospital, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: francesco.garaci@uniroma2.it.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Garaci
mesh_terms: D005901:Glaucoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Diffusion tensor imaging; Glaucoma; MR imaging; MR spectroscopy; fMRI