The difference of the retinal structural and microvascular characteristics in patients with MOGAD-ON and AQP4-ON

Abstract Background Antibodies against myelin-oligodendrocyte-glycoprotein (MOG-Abs) associated disorders (MOGAD) have been recognized as a disease entity in their own right. Optic neuritis (ON) is the most common symptom in MOGAD. Objective To demonstrate the differences in retinal microvascular characteristics between patients with MOGAD-ON and aquaporin-4 antibody (AQP4-Ab) positive ON. Methods A prospective study in which optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) were used to measure retinal and microvascular parameters. Results 22 MOGAD-ON eyes, 32 AQP4-ON eyes and 60 control eyes were included in the study. The thickness of RNFL and GCC in MOGAD-ON eyes is significantly lower than that of HC (p <0.001, respectively), but comparable to AQP4-ON eyes. The vessel density in retina capillary plexus (RCP) reduced significantly in MOGAD-ON than that in AQP4-ON (p < 0.05, respectively). Unlike AQP4-ON, the visual accuracy in MOGAD-ON was positivitly correlated with vessel density of superficial RCP (P = 0.010) and ON relaspe times (P = 0.038). Conclusion The retinal neuro-axonal damages between MOGAD-ON and AQP4-ON were comparable. Unlike AQP4-ON eyes, microvascular densities were significantly reduced in MOGAD-ON, and was positively correlated with the deterioration of visual acuity in MOGAD-ON.