Semin Neurol 2016; 36(02): 177-184
DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1582226
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Optical Coherence Tomography in Multiple Sclerosis

James V. M. Hanson
1   Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Research, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
2   Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
,
Sebastian C. Lukas
1   Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Research, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
,
Misha Pless
3   Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital of the Canton of Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
,
Sven Schippling
1   Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Research, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Publikationsdatum:
26. April 2016 (online)

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Abstract

Retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) has recently become a vital tool for clinicians and researchers in ophthalmology and, increasingly, in neurology. Optical coherence tomography is quickly and easily performed, well-tolerated by patients, and allows high-resolution viewing of unmyelinated axons and other retinal structures in vivo. These factors have led OCT to find favor as a method of quantifying neuroaxonal loss in multiple sclerosis (MS), and the increasing acceptance of the anterior visual pathway as a model to investigate MS in humans.

In this short review, the authors discuss OCT findings in MS research, and the relationships of these structural findings with established functional outcome measures such as visual acuity and electrophysiological examinations. The utility of OCT in patients with acute optic neuritis is emphasized. Optical coherence tomography is a particularly powerful tool when the individual retinal layers are visualized and quantified following the segmentation of scans; this technique shows promise as a method for defining novel MS phenotypes.