Reduced Field-of-View Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Optic Nerve in Retinitis Pigmentosa at 3T

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Diffusion tensor imaging may reflect pathology of the optic nerve; however, the ability of DTI to evaluate alterations of the optic nerve in retinitis pigmentosa has not yet been assessed, to our knowledge. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic potential of reduced FOV–DTI in optic neuropathy of retinitis pigmentosa at 3T.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-eight patients and thirty-five healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Measures of visual field and visual acuity of both eyes in all subjects were performed. A reduced FOV–DTI sequence was used to derive fractional anisotropy, apparent diffusion coefficient, principal eigenvalue, and orthogonal eigenvalue of the individual optic nerves. Mean fractional anisotropy, ADC, and eigenvalue maps were obtained for quantitative analysis. Further analyses were performed to determine the correlation of fractional anisotropy, ADC, principal eigenvalue, and orthogonal eigenvalue with optic nerves in patients with mean deviation of the visual field and visual acuity, respectively.

RESULTS: The optic nerves of patients with retinitis pigmentosa compared with control subjects showed significantly higher ADC, principal eigenvalue, and orthogonal eigenvalue and significantly lower fractional anisotropy (P < .01). For patients with retinitis pigmentosa, the mean deviation of the visual field of the optic nerve was significantly correlated with mean fractional anisotropy (r = 0.364, P = .001) and orthogonal eigenvalue (r = −0.254, P = .029), but it was not correlated with mean ADC (P = .154) and principal eigenvalue (P = .337). Moreover, no correlation between any DTI parameter and visual acuity in patients with retinitis pigmentosa was observed (P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS: Reduced FOV–DTI measurement of the optic nerve may serve as a biomarker of axonal and myelin damage in optic neuropathy for patients with retinitis pigmentosa.