Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in patients with Alzheimer's disease

Objective To observe the changes of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods Twenty eyes of 40 patients with mild and (or) moderate AD confirmed by clinical examination (AD group) were included in the study. There were 11 males and 9 females with an average age of (72.75±8.25) years. Age and gender-matched normal 20 objectives were in the normal control group. Among them, there were 11 males and 9 females with a mean age of (71.05±7.08) years. There was no significant difference in gender composition, age and intraocular pressure between the two groups (P>0.05). There were significant differences in visual acuity, cup disc ratio and mini-mental state examination score (P 6. Computer image analysis system was used to measure the RNFL thickness from superior, inferior, temporal and nasal quadrants, and the average RNFL thickness. The changes of RNFL thickness between the two groups and between different eyes of the same group were compared. Results Compared with the normal control group, the average (t=5.591), superior (t=8.169, 8.053) and inferior (t=12.596, 11.377) thickness of RNFL in both eyes in AD group were thinner, the differences were significant (P 0.05). There was no significant difference of the mean and different quadrant RNFL thickness between different eyes in AD group and normal control group (AD group: t=0.097, 0.821, 0.059, 0.020, 0.116; normal control group: t=0.791, 1.938, 1.806, 2.058, 1.005; P>0.05). Conclusion The RNFL thickness around the optic disc in AD patients is thinner; This occurs first in superior and inferior quadrants of the optic disc. Key words: Alzheimer's disease; Tomography, optical coherence; Retinal nerve fiber layer