New OCT technique in Parkinson's disease.

Rationale: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is now known to also cause retinal atrophy. Measuring the retinal never fiber layer attenuation coefficient (RNFL-ac) by means of optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a new technique to analyze the scattering properties of the retina as a sensitive measure of retinal atrophy. Using OCT-derived RNFL-ac it might be possible to differentiate PD patients from healthy subjects.
Objectives: The primary objective is to investigate if the RNFL-ac in PD patients differs significantly from the RNFL-ac in healthy controls.
Secondary Objectives are: 1) to investigate if the RNFL-ac can be used to differentiate PD patients from healthy controls. 2) to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the RNFL-ac with RNFL thickness in differentiating PD patients from healthy controls. 3) to investigate local differences in the RNFL-ac of the retina.
Study design: This is a pilot study with an observational cross-sectional design. Patients and controls will be subjected to a clinical neurological exam and a non-invasive ophthalmologic exam consisting of a visual acuity test (with a Snellen chart), an ocular pressure measurement, a slit lamp examination, fundoscopy and OCT (the RNFL-ac can be calculated from OCT data). The study protocol will take one hour and 20 minutes.
Study population: The study population consists of 20 PD patients in (modified) Hoehn and Yahr stage 2 – 4, age 50 - 70 years, recruited from the outpatient clinic of the Sint Lucas Andreas Ziekenhuis (SLAZ) and 20 adult healthy controls, matched for age, sex and ethnicity.
Main study parameters/endpoints: The main study parameter is the RNFL-ac and its association with the presence of PD will be investigated.

The Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer attenuation coefficient (RNFL-ac) in patients with Parkinson's disease differs significantly from the RNFL-ac in healthy controls.

End date: 1-jun-2015

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