title: Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and neurologic disability in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the correlation between disability progression assessed by expanded disability status scale (EDSS) and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT), macular thickness and macular volume obtained by spectral domain OCT (SDOCT) in patient with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a cross sectional study by recruiting 104 with relapsing-remitting MS patients and 51 healthy controls. Patients' clinical characteristics and neurologic disability was recorded from the subject clinical records. All patients had complete neuro-ophthalmic and neurological assessments. SDOCT performed to obtain peripapillary RNFLT, macular thickness and volume.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a statistically significant correlation between the mean EDSS scores and the average RNFLT (p = 0 .006; r = − 0.268) along with superior (p = 0.020; r = − 0.228), inferior (p = 0.007; r = − 0.262) and temporal (p = 0.031; r = − 0.212) quadrants. However, macular thickness (p = 0.205; r = − 0.125) and volume (p = 0.178; r = − 0.133) were not significantly correlated with EDSS scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study showed a significant correlation between RNFLT and disability progression assessed by mean of EDSS in patients with relapsing-remitting MS. RNFLT can be a useful tool to estimate neurological disability in newly diagnosed patients or patients with early RRMS.
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Clinic, Dasman Institute, Dasman, Kuwait; Al-Bahar Ophthalmology Center, Ibn Sina Hospital, Kuwait. Electronic address: raed.behbehani@dasmaninstitute.org.
authors.forename: Raed
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Behbehani
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Clinic, Dasman Institute, Dasman, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Abdullah Abu
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Al-Hassan
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Clinic, Dasman Institute, Dasman, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Khars
authors.affiliation: Tissue Bank Core Research Facility, Dasman Institute, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Devarajan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sriraman
authors.affiliation: Neurology Clinic, Dasman Institute, Dasman, Kuwait; Division of Neurology, Amiri Hospital, Sharq, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Raed
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alroughani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000473:pathology*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Axonal loss; Multiple sclerosis; Neurologic disability; Optical coherence tomography; Retinal nerve fiber layer