Post by shimmie on Nov 1, 2007 19:23:02 GMT -5
OCT TO DETECT MS
Researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland report a simple and inexpensive eye exam to detect brain shrinkage and nerve damage - characteristics of progressing MS.
The process, called optical coherence tomography (OCT), scans the layers of nerve fibers of the retina in the back of the eye. Researchers say the process is painless, easier and potentially more accurate than traditional MRI scans for this use.
MRI cannot differentiate between nerve damage and other types of tissue loss.
The OCT scan could be used to determine current disease status and monitor the effectiveness of treatment over time. Additionally, OCT scans take much less time and cost far less than MRI.
While optic nerve damage can indicate a number of diseases and is not specific to MS, such damage is one of the first recognizable symptoms of MS, so doctors could potentially diagnose patients before they experience disease progression.
"OCT is an ultrasound test that looks at the thickness of the retinal layer," clarifies Daniel Silverman, M.D., Medical Director of the MS Care Center in Albany, New York. "This layer may be thinned in MS due to optic nerve lesions.
While OCT may have some value, there is much to be considered. There are many eye diseases that can cause the retinal layer to thin, therefore creating possible errors and false positives."
Researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland report a simple and inexpensive eye exam to detect brain shrinkage and nerve damage - characteristics of progressing MS.
The process, called optical coherence tomography (OCT), scans the layers of nerve fibers of the retina in the back of the eye. Researchers say the process is painless, easier and potentially more accurate than traditional MRI scans for this use.
MRI cannot differentiate between nerve damage and other types of tissue loss.
The OCT scan could be used to determine current disease status and monitor the effectiveness of treatment over time. Additionally, OCT scans take much less time and cost far less than MRI.
While optic nerve damage can indicate a number of diseases and is not specific to MS, such damage is one of the first recognizable symptoms of MS, so doctors could potentially diagnose patients before they experience disease progression.
"OCT is an ultrasound test that looks at the thickness of the retinal layer," clarifies Daniel Silverman, M.D., Medical Director of the MS Care Center in Albany, New York. "This layer may be thinned in MS due to optic nerve lesions.
While OCT may have some value, there is much to be considered. There are many eye diseases that can cause the retinal layer to thin, therefore creating possible errors and false positives."