TY - JOUR
T1 - Patients with multiple sclerosis demonstrate reduced subbasal corneal nerve fibre density
AU - Mikolajczak, Janine
AU - Zimmermann, Hanna
AU - Kheirkhah, Ahmad
AU - Kadas, Ella Maria
AU - Oberwahrenbrock, Timm
AU - Muller, Rodrigo
AU - Ren, Aiai
AU - Kuchling, Joseph
AU - Dietze, Holger
AU - Prüss, Harald
AU - Paul, Friedemann
AU - Hamrah, Pedram
AU - Brandt, Alexander U.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the Departments of Ophthalmology at the Heidelberg University Hospital and the University of Rostock for training in IVCM. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: This study was partially funded by a German Research Foundation (DFG Exc. 257) grant to F.P. P.H.’s contribution was funded by the NIH (NIH R01-EY022695), the Falk Medical Research Foundation and the MEEI Foundation.
Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: This study was partially funded by a German Research Foundation (DFG Exc. 257) grant to F.P. P.H.’s contribution was funded by the NIH (NIH R01-EY022695), the Falk Medical Research Foundation and the MEEI Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, © The Author(s), 2016.
PY - 2017/12/1
Y1 - 2017/12/1
N2 - Background: Many studies in multiple sclerosis (MS) have investigated the retina. Little, however, is known about the effect of MS on the cornea, which is innervated by the trigeminal nerve. It is the site of neural-immune interaction with local dendritic cells reacting in response to environmental stimuli. Objective: This study aims to investigate the effect of MS on corneal nerve fibres and dendritic cells in the subbasal nerve plexus using in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM). Methods: We measured the corneal nerve fibre and dendritic cell density in 26 MS patients and matched healthy controls using a Heidelberg Retina Tomograph with cornea module. Disease severity was assessed with the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite, Expanded Disability Status Scale, visual acuity and retinal optical coherence tomography. Results: We observed significant reduction in total corneal nerve fibre density in MS patients compared to controls. Dendritic cell density was similar in both groups. Reduced total nerve fibre density was associated with worse clinical severity but not with previous clinical trigeminal symptoms, retinal neuro-axonal damage, visual acuity or disease duration. Conclusion: Corneal nerve fibre density is a promising new imaging marker for the assessment of disease severity in MS and should be investigated further.
AB - Background: Many studies in multiple sclerosis (MS) have investigated the retina. Little, however, is known about the effect of MS on the cornea, which is innervated by the trigeminal nerve. It is the site of neural-immune interaction with local dendritic cells reacting in response to environmental stimuli. Objective: This study aims to investigate the effect of MS on corneal nerve fibres and dendritic cells in the subbasal nerve plexus using in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM). Methods: We measured the corneal nerve fibre and dendritic cell density in 26 MS patients and matched healthy controls using a Heidelberg Retina Tomograph with cornea module. Disease severity was assessed with the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite, Expanded Disability Status Scale, visual acuity and retinal optical coherence tomography. Results: We observed significant reduction in total corneal nerve fibre density in MS patients compared to controls. Dendritic cell density was similar in both groups. Reduced total nerve fibre density was associated with worse clinical severity but not with previous clinical trigeminal symptoms, retinal neuro-axonal damage, visual acuity or disease duration. Conclusion: Corneal nerve fibre density is a promising new imaging marker for the assessment of disease severity in MS and should be investigated further.
KW - Multiple sclerosis
KW - cornea
KW - peripheral nerves
KW - retina
KW - subbasal nerve plexus
KW - trigeminal neuralgia
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U2 - 10.1177/1352458516677590
DO - 10.1177/1352458516677590
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85034962677
VL - 23
SP - 1847
EP - 1853
JO - Multiple Sclerosis Journal
JF - Multiple Sclerosis Journal
SN - 1352-4585
IS - 14
ER -