Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To evaluate with Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT3 Stratus) if the macular volume of the fellow eye of patients affected by idiopathic macular pucker in the controlateral eye is different from the macular volume of healthy subjects. Methods: A study on a consecutive series of 12 patients (5 males and 7 females; age 65,33±10,35 years [mean±SD] ) affected by unilateral idiopathic macular pucker was conducted. The fellow, asymptomatic, eye of each patient underwent clinical examination, including visual acuity (VA) evaluation using the ETDRS chart, indirect ophthalmoscopy, slit–lamp biomicroscopy with + 90 diopters no contact lens (Volk Optical Inc., OH) after pupillary dilation. Exclusion criteria were any pre–existing ocular disease, previous surgery or systemic disorders, ametropia >±1.5 diopters (spherical equivalent), VA worse than 0.1 logMAR. Twenty–four eyes of twelve healthy, age–matched, subjects was used as control group. The macular volume of the two eyes was averaged in each healthy subjects of the control group. The volume of the neuroretina in the macular area was automatically measured with the test "Fast Macula" available in the software of OCT3. The algorithm calculates the volume of the macular neuroretina in a central area surrounding the fixation point for a radium of 3 mm. Data were analysed by two sided Mann–Whitney U test. A level of p<0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. Results: No morphological macular abnormalities were found with OCT in the studied eyes, but a statistically significant reduction of the macular volume was present in the eyes of the study group with respect to those of the control group (6,785±0,315 mm3 vs. 7.124±0,268 mm3; P=0.005). A significant correlation between age and macular volume was found in the control group (R=0.620; P=0.031), whereas in the study group the correlation between these two variables was not statistically significant (R=0.367; P=0.241). Conclusions: The development of idiopathic macular pucker is generally considered to be due to anomalous vitreoretinal modifications; the present findings, however, support the hypothesis that an intrinsic neuroretinal defect may be associated to the disease.
Keywords: imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound) • macula/fovea • vitreous