title: Detection of retinal blood vessel changes in multiple sclerosis with optical coherence tomography.
abstract: Although retinal vasculitis is common in multiple sclerosis (MS), it is not known if MS is associated with quantitative abnormalities in retinal blood vessels (BVs). Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is suitable for examining the integrity of the anterior visual pathways in MS. In this paper we have compared the size and number of retinal blood vessels in patients with MS, with and without a history of optic neuritis (ON), and control subjects from the cross-sectional retinal images from OCT. Blood vessel diameter (BVD), blood vessel number (BVN), and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) were extracted from OCT images collected from around the optic nerves of 129 eyes (24 control, 24 MS + ON, 81 MS-ON) of 71 subjects. Associations between blood vessel metrics, MS diagnosis, MS disability, ON, and RNFLT were evaluated using generalized estimating equation (GEE) models. MS eyes had a lower total BVD and BVN than control eyes. The effect was more pronounced with increased MS disability, and persisted in multivariate models adjusting for RNFLT and ON history. Twenty-nine percent (29%) of MS subjects had fewer retinal blood vessels than all control subjects. MS diagnosis, disability, and ON history were not associated with average blood vessel size. The relationship between MS and lower total BVD/BVN is not accounted for by RNFLT or ON. Further study is needed to determine the relationship between OCT blood vessel metrics and qualitative retinal blood vessel abnormalities in MS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, Jharkhand 826004, India; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 619 South Wright Street, Champaign, IL 61820, USA.
authors.forename: Basanta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bhaduri
authors.affiliation: Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 619 South Wright Street, Champaign, IL 61820, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Nolan
authors.affiliation: Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 619 South Wright Street, Champaign, IL 61820, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Shelton
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 906 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Lara A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Pilutti
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 906 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Motl
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences; Department of Neurology & Rehabilitation, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1855 W Taylor St, Chicago, IL 60614 USA.
authors.forename: Heather E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Moss
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Northshore University Healthsystem, 2050 Pfingsten Rd, Glenview, Illinois 60026, USA.
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Pula
authors.affiliation: Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 619 South Wright Street, Champaign, IL 61820, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1304 West Springfield Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 506 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Boppart
keywords: (100.2960) Image analysis; (110.4500) Optical coherence tomography; (170.5755) Retina scanning; (330.4300) Vision system - noninvasive assessment; (330.7329) Visual optics, pathology