Abstract
Purpose: :
The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to evaluate the macular and the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, as also the electrical activity of the macula in female patients suffering from anorexia nervosa (AN) without visual failure.
Methods: :
Thirteen female patients (26 eyes) suffering from AN without visual failure and 20 age and sex-matched healthy female controls (40 eyes) were studied. For the measurement of the macula thickness and the electrical activity of the macula, the optical coherence tomography (OCT) and the multifocal-Electroretinogram (mf-ERG) were used respectively.
Results: :
The visual acuity, as also the visual fields, the color vision testing and the dark adaptation test of all patients were normal. However, the mean foveal thickness was 140.04 µm (vs 150.85 in the control group, P=0.005), and the RNFL thickness was limited to 116.42µm in the superior area (vs 123.15 in the control group, P=0.372) and 121.08 µm in the inferior area (vs 137.6 in the control group, P<0.001) around the optic nerve. Also, the mean P1- response density amplitude of the foveal area was 159.04nV/deg2 (vs 292.43 in the control group, P<0.0001), and the perifoveal area was 79.04nV/deg2 (vs 82.63 in the control group, P=0.118).
Conclusions: :
The present study shows that in patients with anorexia nervosa, even without visual failure there is a decrease of macular and RNFL thickness, as also a decrease of the electrical activity of the macula
Keywords: electrophysiology: clinical • imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound)