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According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Vienna, Austria, the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis could be improved by taking into account a measurement in the eye, at the level of the retina. The point of view of Dr Casseron, neurologist in Aix-en-Provence.
A complex autoimmune pathology, multiple sclerosis (MS) is sometimes difficult and time-consuming to diagnose. To improve on this, Austrian researchers studied the disease through the eyes of patients to confirm a new diagnostic criterion: the thickness of the retinal layer, which can be altered by optic neuritis, an eye inflammation common in the SEP.
Follow-up of patients affected by MS for five years
For this work, the research team led by Gabriel Bsteh and Thomas Berger from the Department of Neurology at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna collaborated with colleagues from MedUni Vienna and the Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry at Vienna University Hospital.
The objective: to monitor 267 patients with MS for five years. This group of patients was thus regularly subjected to a specific eye examination: optical coherence tomography or OCT, an imaging method capable of analyzing the region of the optic nerve and measuring the retinal thickness. This examination also makes it possible to generate 3D images of very fine tissues, such as the retina.
The retina, “a window on the brain”
In addition to their findings, the scientists also built on their previous findings published last year, showing that retinal damage was linked to MS relapse at the brain level. This study showed that a reduction of 5 micrometers in the thickness of the retinal layer following an optic neuritis, generated a doubling of the risk of permanent invalidity after a relapse.
These 2022 results are therefore confirmed by this work, with the Austrian researchers concluding that the thickness of the retinal layer could be used as a biomarker for early diagnosis. “We have identified a new biomarker for the diagnosis of MS, namely the thickness of the retinal layer, which can be likened to a window on the brainsays Dr. Gabriel Bsteh, lead author, summarizing the main finding of the study.
The point of view of Dr Wilfrid Casseron, neurologist in Aix-en-Provence
“The results of this study are interesting because if this measurement can be a predictive criterion of the severity of multiple sclerosis, it has several advantages. Indeed, the OCT examination is easy to perform, minimally invasive for the patient, reproducible everywhere and quick to perform. This could allow us to refine and adjust the treatments and therapeutic protocols of our patients.”