Retinal nerve fibre layer loss in hereditary spastic paraplegias is restricted to complex phenotypes.

BACKGROUND: Reduction of retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness was shown as part of the neurodegenerative process in a range of different neurodegenerative pathologies including Alzheimer's disease (AD), idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) and multiple s...

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Main Authors: Wiethoff, S, Zhour, A, Schöls, L, Fischer, M
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: BioMed Central 2012
Subjects:
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author Wiethoff, S
Zhour, A
Schöls, L
Fischer, M
author_facet Wiethoff, S
Zhour, A
Schöls, L
Fischer, M
author_sort Wiethoff, S
collection OXFORD
description BACKGROUND: Reduction of retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness was shown as part of the neurodegenerative process in a range of different neurodegenerative pathologies including Alzheimer's disease (AD), idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). To further clarify the specificity of RNFL thinning as a potential marker of neurodegenerative diseases we investigated RNFL thickness in Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), an axonal, length-dependent neurodegenerative pathology of the upper motor neurons. METHODS: Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed in 28 HSP patients (clinically: pure HSP = 22, complicated HSP = 6; genetic subtypes: SPG4 = 13, SPG5 = 1, SPG7 = 3, genetically unclassified: 11) to quantify peripapillary RNFL thickness. Standardized examination assessed duration of disease, dependency on assistive walking aids and severity of symptoms quantified with Spastic Paraplegia Rating Scale (SPRS). RESULTS: HSP patients demonstrated no significant thinning of global RNFL (pglobal = 0.61). Subgroup analysis revealed significant reduction in temporal and temporal inferior sectors for patients with complex (p<0.05) but not pure HSP phenotypes. Two of three SPG7-patients showed severe temporal and temporal inferior RNFL loss. Disease duration, age and severity of symptoms were not significantly correlated with global RNFL thickness. CONCLUSION: Clinically pure HSP patients feature no significant reduction in RNFL, whereas complex phenotypes display an abnormal thinning of temporal and temporal inferior RNFL. Our data indicate that RNFL thinning does not occur unspecifically in all neurodegenerative diseases but is in HSP restricted to subtypes with multisystemic degeneration.
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spelling oxford-uuid:e0c4cd7b-55e8-41b2-ae83-89508296d2c92022-03-27T09:49:43ZRetinal nerve fibre layer loss in hereditary spastic paraplegias is restricted to complex phenotypes.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:e0c4cd7b-55e8-41b2-ae83-89508296d2c9NeurologyOphthamologyEnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordBioMed Central2012Wiethoff, SZhour, ASchöls, LFischer, M BACKGROUND: Reduction of retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness was shown as part of the neurodegenerative process in a range of different neurodegenerative pathologies including Alzheimer's disease (AD), idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). To further clarify the specificity of RNFL thinning as a potential marker of neurodegenerative diseases we investigated RNFL thickness in Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), an axonal, length-dependent neurodegenerative pathology of the upper motor neurons. METHODS: Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed in 28 HSP patients (clinically: pure HSP = 22, complicated HSP = 6; genetic subtypes: SPG4 = 13, SPG5 = 1, SPG7 = 3, genetically unclassified: 11) to quantify peripapillary RNFL thickness. Standardized examination assessed duration of disease, dependency on assistive walking aids and severity of symptoms quantified with Spastic Paraplegia Rating Scale (SPRS). RESULTS: HSP patients demonstrated no significant thinning of global RNFL (pglobal = 0.61). Subgroup analysis revealed significant reduction in temporal and temporal inferior sectors for patients with complex (p<0.05) but not pure HSP phenotypes. Two of three SPG7-patients showed severe temporal and temporal inferior RNFL loss. Disease duration, age and severity of symptoms were not significantly correlated with global RNFL thickness. CONCLUSION: Clinically pure HSP patients feature no significant reduction in RNFL, whereas complex phenotypes display an abnormal thinning of temporal and temporal inferior RNFL. Our data indicate that RNFL thinning does not occur unspecifically in all neurodegenerative diseases but is in HSP restricted to subtypes with multisystemic degeneration.
spellingShingle Neurology
Ophthamology
Wiethoff, S
Zhour, A
Schöls, L
Fischer, M
Retinal nerve fibre layer loss in hereditary spastic paraplegias is restricted to complex phenotypes.
title Retinal nerve fibre layer loss in hereditary spastic paraplegias is restricted to complex phenotypes.
title_full Retinal nerve fibre layer loss in hereditary spastic paraplegias is restricted to complex phenotypes.
title_fullStr Retinal nerve fibre layer loss in hereditary spastic paraplegias is restricted to complex phenotypes.
title_full_unstemmed Retinal nerve fibre layer loss in hereditary spastic paraplegias is restricted to complex phenotypes.
title_short Retinal nerve fibre layer loss in hereditary spastic paraplegias is restricted to complex phenotypes.
title_sort retinal nerve fibre layer loss in hereditary spastic paraplegias is restricted to complex phenotypes
topic Neurology
Ophthamology
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AT fischerm retinalnervefibrelayerlossinhereditaryspasticparaplegiasisrestrictedtocomplexphenotypes