title: Variation of choroidal thickness and vessel diameter in patients with posterior non-infectious uveitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Choroidal thickness (CTh) and choroidal vessel diameter (VD) in the Haler's layer were evaluated as markers of inflammatory insult in non-infectious uveitis (NIU). Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (Spectralis®, Heidelberg Engineering Inc.) scans were acquired from 23 normal subjects (39 eyes - group 1), 7 subjects with high myopia (14 eyes - group 2), and 19 patients with NIU (23 eyes - group 3). In groups 1 and 2, CTh and VD were measured at 3 different points of the same horizontal OCT scan passing through the fovea and a mean calculated. Mean CTh and VD were calculated in 2 other locations, 2 mm superior and inferior from the chosen foveal horizontal scan. In group 3, three measurements of CTh and VD were obtained within 1 mm of a horizontal scan passing through a retinal lesion; mean CTh and VD were then computed. A ratio (R) between the VD and the corresponding CTh was calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Group 1, 2 and 3 mean age was 29.6, 29.1 and 45.9 years, respectively. Sixteen normal subjects, three myopic subjects and six NIU patients were male.. Group 1 mean CTh did not differ from group 2 (261.6±45.6 vs. 260.2±50.6 µm µm; p>0.05); mean VD was marginally higher in Group 2 (159.8±32.2 vs. 163.2±33.2 µm; p>0.05). Group 3 demonstrated thinner CTh (193.6±54.6 µm) than Groups 1 and 2 (p = 0.02 and <0.001). Group 3 mean VD (123.6±37.4 µm) was also less than that in Groups 1 and 2; the difference was statistically significant only when compared to group 2, p = 0.01. R did not differ across groups (p-values >0.05), indicating that variations in CTh and VD followed the same trend.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study reports potential quantitative OCT-derived parameters that may be explored in future trials of non-infectious uveitis. Thinning of choroid and decrease of vessel diameter are observed in patients with chronic NIU compared to controls.
authors.affiliation: Retina Imaging Research and Reading Center, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 1800 Orleans Street Woods 259-A, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA. mbitte2@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Millena G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Bittencourt
authors.affiliation: Retina Imaging Research and Reading Center, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 1800 Orleans Street Woods 259-A, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA. salimakherani@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Saleema
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kherani
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Dr. Enéas de Carvalho Aguiar, 255 Instituto Central, Cerqueira César, São Paulo, SP, CEP 05403-900, Brazil. danielferraz1@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Ferraz
authors.affiliation: Retina Imaging Research and Reading Center, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 1800 Orleans Street Woods 259-A, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA. mehreen.ansari91@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Mehreen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ansari
authors.affiliation: Retina Imaging Research and Reading Center, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 1800 Orleans Street Woods 259-A, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA. hhnasir@email.wm.edu.
authors.forename: Humzah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nasir
authors.affiliation: Ocular Imaging Research and Reading Center, Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 985540 Nebraska Medical Center, 3902 Leavenworth Street, Omaha, NE, 68198-5540, USA. yasir.sepah@unmc.edu.
authors.forename: Yasir J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Sepah
authors.affiliation: Ocular Imaging Research and Reading Center, Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 985540 Nebraska Medical Center, 3902 Leavenworth Street, Omaha, NE, 68198-5540, USA. mostafa.hanout@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hanout
authors.affiliation: Ocular Imaging Research and Reading Center, Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 985540 Nebraska Medical Center, 3902 Leavenworth Street, Omaha, NE, 68198-5540, USA. diana.do@unmc.edu.
authors.forename: Diana V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Do
authors.affiliation: Ocular Imaging Research and Reading Center, Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 985540 Nebraska Medical Center, 3902 Leavenworth Street, Omaha, NE, 68198-5540, USA. quan.nguyen@unmc.edu.
authors.forename: Quan Dong
authors.initials: QD
authors.lastname: Nguyen
keywords: Choroidal inflammatory disease; Choroidal thickness; Non-infectious uveitis and white dot syndrome; Optical coherence tomography