Choroidal Thickness in Patients with Stargardt Disease

Abstract

PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between choroidal thicknesses (CT), central foveal thicknesses, multifocal electroretinography (mf-ERG) responses, and best-corrected visual acuity levels in patients with Stargardt disease (STGD). METHODS: A total of 30 eyes of 30 patients with STGD, and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included in the study. All participants underwent detailed ophthalmic examination including best-corrected visual acuity and spectral domain optical coherence tomography measurements, and also patients with STGD were performed mf-ERG. RESULTS: The mean subfoveal CT values were 271.95 ± 85.57 μm in patients with STGD and 355.73 ± 87.41 μm in the control group (P < 0.001). The mean central foveal thickness values were 223.56 ± 61.38 μm in patients with STGD and 272.46 ± 27.52 μm in the control group (P < 0.001). The mean central and paracentral mf-ERG responses (45.71 ± 26.60 and 16.47 ± 10.75 Nv/deg respectively) in patients with STGD were significantly lower from the normal ranges (66.6-130.8 Nv/deg and 30.9-77.7 Nv/deg, respectively; P < 0.001 for both). There was a statistically significant correlation between subfoveal CT and best-corrected visual acuity levels (P = 0.012, r = -0.452), and between parafoveal CT and inner retinal thickness and paracentral mf-ERG responses (P = 0.043, r = +0.372 and P = 0.049, r = +0.363, respectively). Paracentral mf-ERG responses were also correlated with outer retinal thickness values (P = 0.005, r = +0.503). CONCLUSION: Patients with STGD have a thinner CT, which may be responsible for some of the clinical findings. The pathophysiological significance of these findings needs further study.