OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT IN BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

MARIA CECILIA FERNANDEZ; WALESKA BERRIOS; NURIA CAMPORA; ANGEL GOLIMSTO; TOMAS ORTIZ BASSO; CAMILA FERNANDA CHALLIOL; JUAN IGNACIO CAGNASSO

San Diego

Conferencia; Alzheimer Association International Conference 2022 Abstracts; 2022

Alzheimer Association International Conference

BackgroundThe search for biomarkers for the early detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia continues, including ocular markers.An association between neurodegenerative diseases with thinning of optic nerve fiber layers (NFL), macular thickness (MT) and choroidal vessels has been shown by means of optical coherence tomography (OCT), since these structures correspond embryologically to the same origin.In this research we present our data from a population with mild cognitive impairment and dementia and the OCT findings.MethodWe carried out an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study, comparing the OCT parameters (macular thickness and choroidal thickness) between people with cognitive impairment and a control group of patients treated in the Neurology and Ophthalmology services of the Italian Hospital from Buenos Aires between the years 2009 and 2019. The results were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon test using the STATA v14 softwareResultWe included 26 patients with MCI, 21 with dementia and a control group of 30 patients. Regarding the main objective, the measurement of macular thickness, we found statistically significant differences only in the quadrants according to ETDRS (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study) greater than 3 mm and in the nasal one, 6 mm, both in the right eye (p < 0.02), finding very similar thickness values in the remaining quadrants. We were also unable to find differences in choroidal thickness between the groups under study (p0.27 in RE and p0.25 in LE)ConclusionIn our study, we were unable to determine the association of cognitive impairment with significant thinning of the retinal macular thickness and choroidal thickness, either in early stages or in dementia, not knowing if this result derives from the way in which patients were selected or if there is another factor. It seems relevant to us to present these negative data and to propose future studies to clarify these results