Document Detail


Imaging reveals optic tract degeneration in hemianopia.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20739474     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
PURPOSE: To investigate whether there is transsynaptic degeneration in the human optic tract in hemianopia. To consider how the degeneration varies with duration of hemianopia and location of insult.
METHODS: Seven patients with damage to the primary visual cortex (V1), the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), or the optic tract were scanned with structural MRI. The volume and cross-sectional area of the left and right optic tracts were computed based on the intensity values of the T1-weighted image. High values correspond to voxels with high white matter content, and the values decrease as the white matter content drops (indicating degeneration). A laterality index to compare the tract size in the two hemispheres was calculated at different intensity values.
RESULTS: The three hemianopic patients with longstanding damage to either V1 or LGN showed laterality indices greater than 0.5 at the highest intensity values, indicating significant optic tract degeneration. Those with recent damage to the optic tract had even higher laterality indices due to direct degeneration. Even 18 months after V1 lesion, there was a significant correlation between the cross-section and volume indices at different intensity thresholds, whereas no control subject showed any correlation.
CONCLUSIONS: Transsynaptic degeneration had already begun 18 months after lesion. Although there was no visible decrease in volume at this stage, the white matter integrity was compromised. Significant decrease in volume could be visualized at longer durations of hemianopia. This method of objectively assessing structural images provides an effective, noninvasive approach to monitor the timescale of optic tract degeneration.
Authors:
Holly Bridge; Panitha Jindahra; John Barbur; Gordon T Plant
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't     Date:  2011-01-21
Journal Detail:
Title:  Investigative ophthalmology & visual science     Volume:  52     ISSN:  1552-5783     ISO Abbreviation:  Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci.     Publication Date:  2011 Jan 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-01-24     Completed Date:  2011-02-25     Revised Date:  2011-03-04    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7703701     Medline TA:  Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  382-8     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
FMRIB Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom. holly.bridge@clneuro.ox.ac.uk
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Aged
Geniculate Bodies / pathology
Hemianopsia / diagnosis*
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Middle Aged
Nerve Degeneration / diagnosis*
Nerve Fibers / pathology
Optic Nerve / pathology
Optic Nerve Diseases / diagnosis*
Retinal Ganglion Cells / pathology
Synaptic Transmission
Visual Cortex / pathology
Visual Fields
Visual Pathways / pathology*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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