Comparison of peripapillary choroidal thickness between healthy subjects and patients with Parkinson's disease

• Published in: PloS one 2017-05, Vol.12 (5), p.e0177163
• Main Authors: Garcia-Martin, Elena, Pablo, Luis E, Bambo, Maria P, Alarcia, Raquel, Polo, Vicente, Larrosa, Jose M, Vilades, Elisa, Cameo, Beatriz, Orduna, Elvira, Ramirez, Teresa, Satue, Maria
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acuity; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Automation; Autonomic nervous system; Basal ganglia; Biology and Life Sciences; Biometrics; Brain; Brain research; Case-Control Studies; Choroid; Choroid - pathology; Circuits; Classification; Coherence; Color vision; Comparative analysis; Computer programs; Cortex; Cross-Sectional Studies; Deformation; Deformation mechanisms; Degeneration; Dementia disorders; Diabetes mellitus; Diagnosis; Disorders; Diurnal variations; Endocrine disorders; Evaluation; Eye; Eye (anatomy); Female; Fourier analysis; Ganglia; Glaucoma; Health; Humans; Hypertension; Lenses; Male; Mathematical analysis; Medical imaging; Medical research; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mental depression; Middle Aged; Motor systems; Movement disorders; Neural networks; Neurodegeneration; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neuroimaging; Neurology; Neurons; Opacity; Optic Disk - pathology; Optics; Parkinson disease; Parkinson Disease - epidemiology; Parkinson Disease - pathology; Parkinson's disease; Population studies; Psychiatry; Reproducibility of Results; Research and Analysis Methods; Retina; Rigidity; Risk factors; Studies; Thinning; Tissues; Tomography; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Visual perception
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177163

To study peripapillary choroidal thickness (PPCT) in healthy subjects using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT), and to evaluate PPCT differences between Parkinson´s disease (PD) patients, and age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Case-control study. 80 healthy subjects and 40 PD patients were consecutively recruited in this single institution study. The healthy subjects were divided into two populations: a teaching population (n = 40, used to establish choroidal zones) and a validating population (n = 40, used to compare measurements with PD patients). An optic disc 6.0×6.0 mm three-dimensional scan was obtained using Deep Range Imaging (DRI) OCT Triton. A 26×26 cube-grid centered on the optic disc was generated to automatically measure choroidal thickness. Five concentric choroidal zones were established and used to compare PPCT between healthy and PD patients. PPCT was significantly thicker in PD patients compared with controls in all four concentric zones evaluated (p≤0.0001). PPCT followed a similar pattern in controls and PD; it was thicker in the temporosuperior region, followed by the superior, temporal, nasal, and inferior regions. PD patients presented with an increased PPCT in all zones surrounding the optic disc compared with healthy subjects. The peripapillary choroidal tissue showed a concentric pattern, with the thickness increasing with increasing distance from the optic nerve. SS-OCT could be useful for evaluating choroidal thinning in clinical practice.