OPTIC COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY RESULTS IN PATIENTS WITH BEHÇET’S DISEASE

Ramazan Ilyas Oner*

ABSTRACT

Significance: Retina is considered to be an easily traceable part of the brain. Even though the retina does not contain myelin, it is an ideal model of neuronal tissue where degeneration of the ganglion cell neurons and their associated axons may occur. Purpose: We aimed at examining ganglion cell complex structures such as the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL), and inner plexiform layer (IPL) by Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), determining whether inflammatory factors caused damage to the retinal neuronal network in patients with Behçet’s disease (BD) who did not show optic atrophy, i.e., did not develop chronic retinal vascular ischemia. Methods: Forty-two patients with BD and 42 healthy volunteers were included in the study, and their eye RNFL, GCL, and IPL thicknesses were measured using OCT. Results: It was determined that there was a significant decrease in both GCL and IPL thicknesses in patients with BD when compared with those in control patients. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between C-reactive protein levels and GCL and IPL thicknesses. There was a negative correlation between C-reactive protein (CRP), GCL, and IPL, which was statistically significant (r = −0.36 and P = .001 between GCL and CRP and r = −0.22 and P = .039 between IPL and CRP). Conclusion: In patients with BD without optic nerve involvement who did not develop optic atrophy, degeneration was detected in some layers of the retinal nerve network (GCL and IPL), suggesting that this degeneration develops before the possible vascular endothelial damage in the optic nerve. Therefore, performing a retinal nerve follow-up using OCT in the early stages of BD may be an important aspect in monitoring the progression of the disease.

Keywords: Behçet’s disease; Optical Coherence Tomography; Retinal nerve degeneration.