Abstract

Retinal optical coherence tomography has been identified as biomarker for disease progression in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), while the dynamics of retinal atrophy in progressive MS are less clear. We investigated retinal layer thickness changes in RRMS, primary and secondary progressive MS (PPMS, SPMS), and their prognostic value for disease activity. Here, we analyzed 2651 OCT measurements of 195 RRMS, 87 SPMS, 125 PPMS patients, and 98 controls from five German MS centers after quality control. Peripapillary and macular retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL, mRNFL) thickness predicted future relapses in all MS and RRMS patients while mRNFL and ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness predicted future MRI activity in RRMS (mRNFL, GCIPL) and PPMS (GCIPL). mRNFL thickness predicted future disability progression in PPMS. However, thickness change rates were subject to considerable amounts of measurement variability. In conclusion, retinal degeneration, most pronounced of pRNFL and GCIPL, occurs in all subtypes. Using the current state of technology, longitudinal assessments of retinal thickness may not be suitable on a single patient level.

The prognostic value of OCT in progressive vs relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) is not clear. Analyzing 2651 OCTs of 407 MS patients, OCT predicted activity in all MS subtypes cross sectionally but longitudinal changes were not predictive in a multicenter setting.

Details

Title
Evolution of retinal degeneration and prediction of disease activity in relapsing and progressive multiple sclerosis
Author
Krämer, Julia 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Balloff, Carolin 2 ; Weise, Margit 3 ; Koska, Valeria 3 ; Uthmeier, Yannik 3 ; Esderts, Isabell 1 ; Nguyen-Minh, Mai 1 ; Zimmerhof, Moritz 1 ; Hartmann, Alex 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Dietrich, Michael 3 ; Ingwersen, Jens 3 ; Lee, John-Ih 3 ; Havla, Joachim 5 ; Kümpfel, Tania 5 ; Kerschensteiner, Martin 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Häußler, Vivien 7 ; Heesen, Christoph 7 ; Stellmann, Jan-Patrick 8 ; Zimmermann, Hanna G. 9 ; Oertel, Frederike C. 9 ; Ringelstein, Marius 10   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Brandt, Alexander U. 9 ; Paul, Friedemann 9 ; Aktas, Orhan 3 ; Hartung, Hans-Peter 11 ; Wiendl, Heinz 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Meuth, Sven G. 3 ; Albrecht, Philipp 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

1  University Hospital Münster, Department of Neurology with Institute of Translational Neurology, Münster, Germany (GRID:grid.16149.3b) (ISNI:0000 0004 0551 4246) 
2  Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (GRID:grid.411327.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2176 9917); Kliniken Maria Hilf, Department of Neurology, Mönchengladbach, Germany (GRID:grid.500048.9) 
3  Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (GRID:grid.411327.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2176 9917) 
4  Hanseatic Statistics, Hamburg, Germany (GRID:grid.16149.3b) 
5  Ludwig-Maximilians University München, Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology, LMU Hospital, München, Germany (GRID:grid.5252.0) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 973X) 
6  Ludwig-Maximilians University München, Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology, LMU Hospital, München, Germany (GRID:grid.5252.0) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 973X); Ludwig-Maximilians University München, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, München, Germany (GRID:grid.5252.0) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 973X); Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany (GRID:grid.452617.3) 
7  University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Institute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis (INIMS), Hamburg, Germany (GRID:grid.480123.c) (ISNI:0000 0004 0553 3068); University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Neurology, Hamburg, Germany (GRID:grid.13648.38) (ISNI:0000 0001 2180 3484) 
8  University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Institute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis (INIMS), Hamburg, Germany (GRID:grid.480123.c) (ISNI:0000 0004 0553 3068); University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Neurology, Hamburg, Germany (GRID:grid.13648.38) (ISNI:0000 0001 2180 3484); UMR, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS-CRMBM, Marseille, France (GRID:grid.5399.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2176 4817); CEMEREM, APHM La Timone, Marseille, France (GRID:grid.5399.6) 
9  corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Experimental and Clinical Research Center, Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany (GRID:grid.7468.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 2248 7639) 
10  Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (GRID:grid.411327.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2176 9917); Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Department of Neurology, Center for Neurology and Neuropsychiatry, LVR-Klinikum, Düsseldorf, Germany (GRID:grid.411327.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2176 9917) 
11  Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (GRID:grid.411327.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2176 9917); University of Sydney, Brain and Mind Center, Sydney, Australia (GRID:grid.1013.3) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 834X); Palacky University Olomouc, Department of Neurology, Olomouc, Czech Republic (GRID:grid.10979.36) (ISNI:0000 0001 1245 3953) 
Pages
5243
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20411723
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49309-7
ProQuest document ID
3069690738
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.