Change of Retinal Nerve Layer Thickness in Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy Revealed by Fourier Domain Optical Coherence Tomography.

ABSTRACTPurpose: To examine the changes of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) by serial morphometry using Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT).Materials and methods: Retrospective study in patients with newly diagnosed NAION (n=33, all unilateral) and controls (n=75 unilateral NAION patients with full contralateral eye vision) who underwent FD-OCT of the optic disk, optic nerve head (ONH), and macula within 1 week of onset and again 1, 3, 6, and 12 months later. The patients showed no improvement in vision during follow-up.Results: Within 1 week of onset, all NAION eyes exhibited severe ONH fiber crowding and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) edema. Four had subretinal fluid accumulation and 12 had posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) at the optic disc surface. Ganglion cell complex (GCC) and RNFL thicknesses were reduced at 1 and 3 months (p < 0.05), with no deterioration thereafter. Initial RNFL/GCC contraction magnitude in the superior hemisphere correl...