Bezmialem Vakif University, Department of Psychiatry, Adnan Menderes Boulevard, Vatan Street, 34093 Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey.
Bezmialem Vakif University, Department of Ophthalmology, Adnan Menderes Boulevard, Vatan Street, 34093 Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey.
Schizophr Res. 2020 Apr;218:255-261. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2019.12.034. Epub 2020 Jan 14.
A large number of studies using different neuroimaging methods showed various structural changes both in patients and their unaffected first-degree relatives (FDRs) over the past years. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a relatively new, non-invasive imaging method used to obtain high-resolution cross-sectional images of the retina. A growing body of evidence reports thinning of retinal layers in patients with schizophrenia which is considered as a proxy for CNS alterations. We hypothesized that retinal layer changes would be observed in FDRs, in parallel with those seen in patients, as a potential endophenotype candidate.
Thirty-eight schizophrenia patients, 38 FDRs of schizophrenia and 38 age and gender-matched healthy subjects with no family history (HCs) were recruited to this study. OCT measurements were performed and peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL), inner plexiform layer (IPL) and macular thicknesses were measured.
The groups did not differ on RNFL, macular or GCL thickness. However, IPL thickness was significantly lower in both patients and FDRs than HCs (p = .025 and p = .041, respectively). The difference between groups remained significant after controlling for confounders such as age, gender, smoking status, comorbid medical diseases and BMI (p = .016 patients vs HCs and p = .014 FDRs vs HCs).
Our findings suggest that IPL thinning may hold promise as a useful endophenotype for genetic and early detection studies. The evaluation of this area could provide an important avenue for elucidating some of the neurodevelopmental aberrations in the disorder.
在过去的几年中，大量使用不同神经影像学方法的研究表明，患者及其未受影响的一级亲属（FDRs）存在各种结构变化。光学相干断层扫描（OCT）是一种相对较新的、非侵入性的成像方法，用于获得视网膜的高分辨率横截面图像。越来越多的证据表明，精神分裂症患者的视网膜层变薄，这被认为是中枢神经系统改变的替代指标。我们假设在 FDRs 中会观察到与患者相似的视网膜层变化，作为潜在的候选内表型。
本研究招募了 38 名精神分裂症患者、38 名精神分裂症 FDRs 和 38 名年龄和性别匹配的无家族史（HCs）健康对照者。进行了 OCT 测量，并测量了视盘周围视网膜神经纤维层（RNFL）、神经节细胞层（GCL）、内丛状层（IPL）和黄斑厚度。
三组在 RNFL、黄斑或 GCL 厚度方面无差异。然而，患者和 FDRs 的 IPL 厚度均明显低于 HCs（分别为 p =.025 和 p =.041）。在控制年龄、性别、吸烟状况、合并的医学疾病和 BMI 等混杂因素后，组间差异仍然显著（p =.016 患者与 HCs，p =.014 FDRs 与 HCs）。
我们的发现表明，IPL 变薄可能是遗传和早期检测研究的有用内表型。该区域的评估可能为阐明该疾病中的一些神经发育异常提供重要途径。
