1. Evidence of early ultrastructural photoreceptor abnormalities in light-induced retinal degeneration using spectral domain optical coherence tomography
- Author
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Mehak K Aziz, Denise Esserman, Aiguo Ni, and Sai H. Chavala
- Subjects
Retinal degeneration ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Light ,Opacity ,Biology ,Retina ,Mice ,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Optical coherence tomography ,Ophthalmology ,medicine ,Animals ,Outer nuclear layer ,Retinal thinning ,Mice, Inbred BALB C ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,Retinal Degeneration ,Retinal ,Anatomy ,medicine.disease ,Sensory Systems ,Radiation Injuries, Experimental ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,chemistry ,Ultrastructure ,Female ,sense organs ,Tomography, Optical Coherence ,Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate - Abstract
Background To study spatiotemporal in vivo changes in retinal morphology and quantify thickness of retinal layers in a mouse model of light-induced retinal degeneration using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Methods BALB/c mice were exposed to 5000 lux of constant light for 3 h. SD-OCT images were taken 3 h, 24 h, 3 days, 1 week and 1 month after light exposure and were compared with histology at the same time points. SD-OCT images were also taken at 0, 1 and 2 h after light exposure in order to analyse retinal changes at the earliest time points. The thickness of retinal layers was measured using the Bioptigen software InVivoVue Diver. Results SD-OCT demonstrated progressive outer retinal thinning. 3 h after light exposure, the outer nuclear layer converted from hyporeflective to hyper-reflective. At 24 h, outer retinal bands and nuclear layer demonstrated similar levels of hyper-reflectivity. Significant variations in outer retinal thickness, vitreous opacities and retinal detachments occurred within days of injury. Thinning of the retina was observed at 1 month after injury. It was also determined that outer nuclear layer changes precede photoreceptor segment structure disintegration and the greatest change in segment structure occurs between 1 and 2 h after light exposure. Conclusions Longitudinal SD-OCT reveals intraretinal changes that cannot be observed by histopathology at early time points in the light injury model.
- Published
- 2014