Department of Psychiatry, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (SBV) Deemed To Be University, Puducherry, India.
Department of Psychiatry, AIIMS, Kalyani, India.
Int Ophthalmol. 2021 Aug;41(8):2737-2746. doi: 10.1007/s10792-021-01831-z. Epub 2021 Apr 15.
The retina has been investigated as a gateway to assess the neurodegenerative changes in the brain. Schizophrenia is also conceptualized as a neurodegenerative disorder like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The current literature suggests reduced retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness and macular thickness (MT), as a marker of neurodegeneration, in patient suffering from chronic schizophrenia. This study aims to compare RNFL thickness and MT in acute schizophrenic patients with age and sex matched healthy controls.
Twenty acutely ill schizophrenic patients and 20 normal controls were included in the study after proper informed consent. RNFL thickness and MT was measured using spectral domain Optical Coherence Tomography after clinical psychological assessment and ocular examination.
The two groups were comparable in terms of socio-demographic variables. The average RNFL thickness of patients and healthy controls was 102.11 ± 29.18 µm and 105.14 ± 27.35 µm, respectively. Central macular thickness was 181.12 ± 13.63 µm in patients and 234.58 ± 10.71 µm in controls. There was a statistically significant reduction in thickness of macula (p < 0.05) but not for RNFL (p = 0.339).
The study concludes that macular thinning rather than reduced RNFL is an early manifestation in acute schizophrenia patients and can be considered as a potential early biomarker of neurodegeneration in schizophrenia.
视网膜已被研究作为评估大脑神经退行性变化的途径。精神分裂症也被认为是一种像阿尔茨海默病和帕金森病一样的神经退行性疾病。目前的文献表明，慢性精神分裂症患者的视网膜神经纤维层（RNFL）厚度和黄斑厚度（MT）减少，作为神经退行性变的标志物。本研究旨在比较急性精神分裂症患者与年龄和性别匹配的健康对照组的 RNFL 厚度和 MT。
在适当的知情同意后，纳入了 20 名急性精神分裂症患者和 20 名正常对照者。在临床心理评估和眼部检查后，使用谱域光学相干断层扫描测量 RNFL 厚度和 MT。
两组在社会人口统计学变量方面具有可比性。患者和健康对照组的平均 RNFL 厚度分别为 102.11±29.18µm 和 105.14±27.35µm。患者的黄斑中心厚度为 181.12±13.63µm，对照组为 234.58±10.71µm。黄斑厚度有统计学显著降低（p<0.05），但 RNFL 无统计学差异（p=0.339）。
本研究得出的结论是，黄斑变薄而不是 RNFL 减少是急性精神分裂症患者的早期表现，可被视为精神分裂症神经退行性变的潜在早期生物标志物。
