title: The Effect of Axial Length on the Thickness of Intraretinal Layers of the Macula.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of axial length (AL) on the thickness of intraretinal layers in the macula using optical coherence tomography (OCT) image analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty three randomly selected eyes of 53 healthy subjects were recruited for this study. The median age of the participants was 29 years (range: 6 to 67 years). AL was measured for each eye using a Lenstar LS 900 device. OCT imaging of the macula was also performed by Stratus OCT. OCTRIMA software was used to process the raw OCT scans and to determine the weighted mean thickness of 6 intraretinal layers and the total retina. Partial correlation test was performed to assess the correlation between the AL and the thickness values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total retinal thickness showed moderate negative correlation with AL (r = -0.378, p = 0.0007), while no correlation was observed between the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCC), retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and AL. Moderate negative correlation was observed also between the thickness of the ganglion cell layer and inner plexiform layer complex (GCL+IPL), inner nuclear layer (INL), outer plexiform layer (OPL), outer nuclear layer (ONL) and AL which were more pronounced in the peripheral ring (r = -0.402, p = 0.004; r = -0.429, p = 0.002; r = -0.360, p = 0.01; r = -0.448, p = 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results have shown that the thickness of the nuclear layers and the total retina is correlated with AL. The reason underlying this could be the lateral stretching capability of these layers; however, further research is warranted to prove this theory. Our results suggest that the effect of AL on retinal layers should be taken into account in future studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szigeti
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tátrai
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Boglárka Enikő
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Varga
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szamosi
authors.affiliation: Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Delia Cabrera
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: DeBuc
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Zoltán Zsolt
authors.initials: ZZ
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: János
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Németh
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.|Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Gábor Márk
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Somfai
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D058452:Axial Length, Eye; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012160:Retina / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence