Abstract
BACKGROUND: To evaluate layer-by-layer retinal thickness, peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) measurement, minimum rim width (MRW), and subfoveal choroidal thickness (CT) in clinically unilateral pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEXS), comparing affected, fellow and healthy eyes. METHODS: This research involved 65 eyes (PEXS and fellow eyes) of 65 unilateral PEXS patients and 80 eyes of 80 healthy controls. Heidelberg Spectralis optical coherence tomography (OCT) with Glaucoma Module Premium Edition (GMPE) software was used to assess layer-by-layer macular thickness [including macular nerve fiber layer (mNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL), inner plexiform layer (IPL), inner nuclear layer (INL), outer plexiform layer (OPL), outer nuclear layer (ONL), retina pigment epithelium (RPE)], pRNFL and MRW. CT was measured using EDI-OCT. RESULTS: The median age was 66.00 (62.00-73.00) years for PEXS group and 65.00 (60.00-69.75) years for healthy controls (p = 0.271). All of the 9 ETDRS macular regions of mNFL, GCL, IPL, INL, OPL, ONL, RPE thickness, pRNFL and BMO-MRW parameters were significantly lower in PEXS and fellow eyes than in control eyes (p < 0.05, for all). However, no significant differences were observed between PEXS and fellow eyes for most parameters. Subfoveal CT was lower in PEXS and fellow eyes than in control eyes (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: GMPE analysis demonstrated that PEXS and fellow eyes were related with lower layer-by-layer macular and pRNFL thickness, MRW and subfoveal CT compared to healthy eyes. Furthermore, fellow eyes showed a similar decreased thickness as PEXS eyes. Further research is warranted to clarify whether pseudoexfoliation independently increases risk for neural injury.