Yu Longhua, Xie Liqi, Dai Chao, Xie Bing, Liang Minglong, Zhao Lu, Yin Xuntao, Wang Jian
Department of Radiology, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China; Department of Radiology, 401st Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Department of Radiology, 401st Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
PLoS One. 2015 Mar 27;10(3):e0121960. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121960. eCollection 2015.
The aim of this study was to investigate possible changes of cortical thickness in the visual cortex in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) of varying severity. Twenty normal controls (NC), 20 mild (MP) and 17 severe (SP) POAG patients were recruited and scanned using magnetic resonance imaging. Cortical thickness analyses with regions of interest (V1, V2, ventral V3, V4 and V5/MT+) were used to assess the cortical changes among the three groups. Furthermore, the associations of cortical thickness with retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and mean deviation of visual field were analyzed. Compared with the NC group, decreased cortical thickness was detected in the bilateral V5/MT+ areas in the MP group and the left V1, bilateral V2 and V5/MT+ areas in the SP group. Cortical thinning of the bilateral V2 areas was detected in the SP group compared with the MP group. In addition, cortical thinning of these visual areas was related to the ophthalmologic measurements. In conclusion, POAG patients exhibit cortical thinning in the bilateral V5/MT+ in the early stage of disease. The cortical degeneration in visual areas is discrepant with disease progressing and the dorsal pathway might be selectively damaged in POAG. Therefore, the cortical thinning of these visual areas may play a key role in the progression of POAG and can serve as a novel biomarker for accurately evaluating the severity of POAG.
本研究旨在调查不同严重程度的原发性开角型青光眼（POAG）患者视觉皮层的皮质厚度可能发生的变化。招募了20名正常对照者（NC）、20名轻度（MP）和17名重度（SP）POAG患者，并使用磁共振成像进行扫描。采用感兴趣区域（V1、V2、腹侧V3、V4和V5/MT+）的皮质厚度分析来评估三组之间的皮质变化。此外，还分析了皮质厚度与视网膜神经纤维层（RNFL）厚度和视野平均偏差之间的关联。与NC组相比，MP组双侧V5/MT+区域以及SP组左侧V1、双侧V2和V5/MT+区域的皮质厚度降低。与MP组相比，SP组双侧V2区域出现皮质变薄。此外，这些视觉区域的皮质变薄与眼科测量结果相关。总之，POAG患者在疾病早期双侧V5/MT+区域出现皮质变薄。视觉区域的皮质变性与疾病进展不一致，背侧通路可能在POAG中受到选择性损伤。因此，这些视觉区域的皮质变薄可能在POAG的进展中起关键作用，并可作为准确评估POAG严重程度的新型生物标志物。
