Abstract
Purpose:
The aim of the present study was to evaluate choroidal thicknesses (CT) in patients with Stargardt’s disease (SD) using an enhanced-depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (EDI SD-OCT) system (Spectralis OCT; Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany).
Methods:
Fifteen patients with SD (9 male, 6 female) and 15 age and sex-matched healthy controls were included in the study. All participants underwent a complete ophthalmological examination including best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), EDI SD-OCT and central foveal thickness (CFT) measurements, and multi-focal electroretinography (mfERG). Submacular CT measurements were obtained from subfoveal and parafoveal regions. Subfoveal CT was defined as the average CT values of foveal center, and 500 µm away from the nasal and temporal directions of the foveal center. An average CT of horizontal nasal and temporal quadrants 1000 µm away from the foveal center was considered as parafoveal CT.
Results:
The mean ages were 27.6 ± 10.9 years in patients with SD and 28.8 ± 10.1 years in control group (p=0.745). Mean CFT value was 249.26 ± 57.35µm in patients with SD and 271.06 ± 32.23µm in control group (p=0.210). The subfoveal CT values were 255.0 ± 63.83 µm in patients with SD and 358.33 ± 88.10 µm in control group (p=0.001). The parafoveal CT values were 236.26 ± 59.56 µm and 319.73 ± 72.67 µm in SD and control groups, respectively (p=0.02). There was no correlation between the subfoveal CT value and BCVA, CFT, and central ring response of mfERG in patients with SD (p=0.975 r=0.09, p=0.191 r=0.357 and p=0.168 r=0.375, respectively). The parafoveal CT values were also not correlated with BCVA, CFT, and paracentral ring response of mfERG (p=0.661 r=-0.123, p=0.348 r= 0,261 and p=0.057 r=0.500, respectively).
Conclusions:
Subfoveal and parafoveal CT values were significantly lower in patients with SD compared to control group. Despite the CT changes in the patients with SD, a correlation could not be determined between the CT values and BCVA, CFT, and response of mfERG. Further research is needed to understand the pathophysiological significance of the choroidal thinning in patients with SD.