Salivary alpha amylase activity is increased in active central serous chorioretinopathy

Abstract

Purpose : Investigating and comparing the salivary alpha amylase (sAA) activity as an indicator of sympathetic activity and stress response in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) and healthy controls.

Methods : Multi-center, prospective case series including a main cohort of 40 CSC patients and 67 healthy controls, and an additional cohort of 40 CSC patients and 21 healthy controls included from another medical center. CSC status was classified as either active or inactive, depending on the presence of subretinal fluid on optical coherence tomography (OCT). Salivary samples were collected in the morning from patients and controls of the main cohort and at midnight for the additional cohort. SAA activity was determined in patients and controls.

Results : Morning sAA activity was significantly higher in patients with active CSC compared to inactive CSC (p=0.049) and to healthy controls (p=0.012). There was no significant difference in sAA activity between patients with inactive CSC and controls (p=1.0). Nocturnal sAA activity did not show any significant differences between patients with active CSC and either inactive CSC or controls (p=0.139).

Conclusions : Morning sAA activity is increased in patients with active CSC, while diurnal rhythmicity is preserved. Measurement of sAA is easy to perform and should serve a useful tool to further investigate the relation between stress and CSC.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.