Comparing the longitudinal rate of change in retinal thickness between different dementia types

Theme: Neuro-ophthalmology
What: Neuro-ophthalmology
Part of: Neuro-ophthalmology II / Neuro-ophtalmolgie II
When: 6/1/2024, 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM
Where: Room | Salle 714 B

Abstract

Purpose: To determine whether the rate of change in retinal thickness differs between dementia subtypes.

Study Design: Retrospective longitudinal cohort study.

Methods: Subjects were recruited within the Ontario Neurodegenerative Research Initiative (ONDRI), a multi-site cohort study. They had thorough cognitive testing, and were grouped by dementia type. They underwent spectral domain ocular coherence tomography (SD-OCT) annually. Subjects with SD-OCTs available at two consecutive timepoints were included in the current study. Subjects with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI), Alzheimer’s (ADMCI), Parkinson’s (PD), and frontotemporal (FTD) dementia were included. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis subjects were excluded as too few subjects had follow-up imaging. Peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (pRNFL) and posterior pole scans were obtained, and were included if image quality was at least 17 and 19, respectively. OCTs included in ONDRI were rigorously screened by ophthalmologists to exclude confounding maculopathies, optic neuropathies, and prior retinal surgeries. Two linear mixed models were performed to assess the effects of dementia type on the percentage change over one year in (a) global pRNFL thickness and (b) mean macular total retinal thickness (mRT). Subject identification numbers were included as a random effect, controlling for within-subject bias. Percentage change was calculated as (thickness at year 1 – thickness at baseline) / thickness at baseline.

Results: 507 eyes from 259 subjects met inclusion criteria for the pRNFL model (eyes = 135 ADMCI, 41 FTD, 177 PD, 154 VCI), and 499 eyes from 257 subjects met inclusion for the mRT model (eyes = 134 ADMCI, 39 FTD, 174 PD, 152 VCI). Dementia cohorts’ mean ages ranged from 66.8–71.3, and percentage male from 57-81%. Dementia type did not significantly affect the percentage change in retinal thickness over one year in both pRNFL and mRT (p=0.375 and 0.592 for type III test, respectively).

Conclusions: The longitudinal rate of change in pRNFL and mRT was not different between dementia groups over one year. Future studies measuring thickness changes over longer periods of time would be warranted to see if any differences emerge, or if the dementias still progress at the same rate.

Presenter(s)

Presenting Author: Saffire Krance

Additional Author(s):

Wendy Hatch, Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Alex Kiss, Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Wendy Lou, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Christopher Hudson, University of Waterloo, School of Optometry and Vision Science, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Peter Kertes, Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Sandra Black, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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