title: Changes in Choroidal Thickness follow the RNFL Changes in Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.
abstract: Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is typically characterized by vascular alterations in the acute phase. The aim of this study was to evaluate choroidal changes occurring in asymptomatic, acute and chronic stages of LHON. We enrolled 49 patients with LHON, 19 with Dominant Optic Atrophy (DOA) and 22 healthy controls. Spectral Domain-Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) scans of macular and peripapillary regions were performed in all subjects, to evaluate macular and peripapillary choroidal thickness, and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thicknes. Macular and peripapillary choroidal thicknesses were significantly increased in the acute LHON stage. On the contrary, macular choroidal thickness was significantly reduced in the chronic stage. Furthermore, peripapillary choroidal thickness was decreased in chronic LHON and in DOA. Both RNFL and choroid had the same trend (increased thickness, followed by thinning), but RNFL changes preceded those affecting the choroid. In conclusion, our study quantitatively demonstrated the involvement of the choroid in LHON pathology. The increase in choroidal thickness is a feature of the LHON acute stage, which follows the thickening of RNFL. Conversely, thinning of the choroid is the common outcome in chronic LHON and in DOA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Borrelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Giacinto
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Triolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Lucia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Cascavilla
authors.affiliation: IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy.|Neurology unit of the Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: La Morgia
authors.affiliation: IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy.|Neurology unit of the Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.affiliation: G.B. Bietti Foundation, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Savini
authors.affiliation: Studio Oculistico d'Azeglio, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Balducci
authors.affiliation: San Giuseppe Hospital, University Eye Clinic, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nucci
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Giglio
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Darvizeh
authors.affiliation: G.B. Bietti Foundation, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parisi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bandello
authors.affiliation: Doheny Eye Institute, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Alfredo A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Sadun
authors.affiliation: IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy.|Neurology unit of the Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Carelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.|Studio Oculistico d'Azeglio, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Barboni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002829:Choroid / Q000473:pathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D029242:Optic Atrophy, Hereditary, Leber / Q000473:pathology*; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult