Correlating OCT Changes With Disease Severity And Cognitive Status In Parkinson’s Disease (P1.012)

Objective: To correlate changes in average macula volume and average retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness as measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT) with clinical outcomes and MRI measures in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and in age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs). Background: Because the dopaminergic cells in the retina lack a myelin sheath, it is believed that studying the RNFL can provide insight into neurodegeneration and thus be potential biomarkers for disease progression in PD. Methods: Twenty-five HCs and 40 PD patients underwent clinical, cognitive, OCT and 3T MRI examinations. PD patients were divided into two groups: 23 patients of Hoehn & Yahr stage 1-2 with normal cognition [defined as Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score > 26 and Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) of 0] were placed in the non-MCI group and 17 patients of Hoehn & Yahr stage 2-4 with altered cognition (MoCA scores <26 and CDR of 0.5) were placed in the MCI group. MRI measures assessed lesion, atrophy diffusion and iron deposition outcomes. Correlations were performed between OCT measures and clinical, cognitive and MRI outcomes between PD and HC and MCI and non-MCI groups. Results: No significant differences in RNFL thickness or macula volume between PD patients and HC or between MCI and non-MCI PD patients was found. There were no significant correlations between OCT and clinical, cognitive and MRI outcomes between PD and HC and between MCI and non-MCI groups. Conclusions: In this study, OCT status did not differentiate between PD and HC or between MCI and non-MCI PD groups. OCT was also not related to clinical, cognitive or MRI outcomes. A larger study with more subjects or longitudinal studies are required to further investigate whether RNFL is affected in PD. Disclosure: Dr. Vartak has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gattuso has received personal compensation for activities with Teva Neuroscience as a speaker and advisory board member. Dr. Gattuso has received license fee payments from the University of Rochester. Dr. Hagemeier has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kennedy has nothing to disclose. Dr. Melia has nothing to disclose. Dr. Carl has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lichter has received personal compensation for activities with Teva Neuroscience and UCB Pharma. Dr. Zivadinov has received personal compensation for activities with Teva, Biogen Idec, EMD Serono, Novartis, Claret and Sanofi-Genzyme. Dr. Zivadinov has received research support from Biogen Idec, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi-Genzyme, Novartis and EMD Serono.