The Place of Optical Coherence Tomography in Patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Evaluation of retinal thickness measured by optical coherence tomography in patients with generalized anxiety disorder

PURPOSE

To compare the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, macular thickness, ganglion cell layer thickness, and inner plexiform layer thickness determined by Optic Coherence Tomography in the patient group diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder who did not receive any psychiatric medication with the healthy control group.

METHODS

Forty newly diagnosed, drug-free Generalized Anxiety Disorder patients and 43 healthy age- and gender-matched control subjects were included in the study. Macular thickness, ganglion cell layer thickness, inner plexiform layer thickness, and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness were measured using optical coherence tomography. Structured Clinical Interviews and a State-Trait Anxiety Scale were applied to both groups.

RESULTS

Gender distributions (P = 0.965) and mean ages were similar between the groups (P = 0.340). Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness measurements were not significantly different between the groups. We observed statistically significant thinning in the inner superior, inner nasal, inner temporal, inner inferior, and outer inferior quadrants of the macula in the patient group compared to the control group (P = 0.046, P = 0.046, P = 0.020, P = 0.007, P = 0.014). We found thinning at the Ganglion cell layer in the inner inferior and outer temporal quadrants (Respectively P = 0.018, P = 0.049), inner plexiform layer in the inner nasal, inner temporal, and inner inferior quadrants (Respectively P = 0.046, P = 0.044, P = 0.011) compared to the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study to reveal thinning in the macula, ganglion cell layer, and inner plexiform layer in newly diagnosed, drug-free Generalized Anxiety Disorder patients compared to the control group.

Reduced olfactory bulb volume and olfactory sulcus depth in obsessive compulsive disorder

Many studies have shown that limbic system abnormalities are seen in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but the neurobiological changes in OCD are still unclear. Moreover, olfactory bulb volume (OBV) and its association with symptom severity have not been yet investigated in patients with OCD. This is the first study on OBV and olfactory sulcus depth (OSD) values in OCD patients, to the best of our knowledge. Between January 2018 and March 2022, 25 patients with OCD and 26 healthy controls with brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were included. Detailed disease history of OCD patients was taken, and Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (YBOCS) was applied. The mean age of the patient group was 33.40±9.58, the mean age of the control group was 32.84±8.01. LOBV, ROBV, TOBV, and LOSD in the patient group were significantly lower than in the control group (p=.013, p=.005, p=.001, p=.015, respectively). ROBV and TOBV were negatively correlated with YBOCS total and subscale scores. A negative correlation was found between ROBV and TOBV and disease duration (r=-0.749 and r=-0.640, respectively). The negative correlation of ROBV and TOBV values with disease duration and disease severity can be used to monitor the neurodegenerative process of OCD disease.

Sharing the Same Perspective. Mental Disorders and Central Serous Chorioretinopathy: A Systematic Review of Evidence from 2010 to 2020

Background: The relevance of the association between mental disorders and other conditions might have been underestimated due to its complexity. Central Serous Chorioretinopathy (CSC) is an ophthalmological disorder associated with many psychiatric factors. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the association between mental disorders and CSC. Methods: Articles about studies performed on humans on CSC published in peer-reviewed journals from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2020 were included in the review. Results: We selected 21 research papers. Nine studies measured stress and anxious depressive symptoms, which are associated with CSC onset and recurrences, emerging as a state marker of the disease. Four out of the five studies focused on sleep disorders suggested a reliable association with CSC. Four studies evaluated other various psychiatric factors. The role of psychopharmacological medication has still not been elucidated (three studies). Conclusion: Multiple pieces of evidence highlights that CSC might arise in the context of systemic disease. This notion, together with the increasing evidence supporting a link between psychiatric disorders and choroidal thickness, suggests that CSC and mental disorders may share some etiopathogenetic pathways. Further research is needed to better investigate possible common etiopathogenetic pathways, especially vascular, immunological and endocrinological systems.

UNCOMPLICATED PACHYCHOROID IN RELATION TO OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER: AN OCT-ANGIOGRAPHY STUDY

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to evaluate potential changes in choroidal flow in patients with newly diagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder based on optical coherence tomography angiography findings and to investigate the relationship between subfoveal choroidal thickness and choriocapillaris flow area.

METHODS

This prospective study included newly diagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder patients and healthy controls. All patients underwent enhanced depth imaging-optical coherence tomography imaging to assess the subfoveal choroidal thickness and optical coherence tomography angiography imaging to evaluate the choriocapillaris flow area.

RESULTS

A total of 55 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and 50 controls were included. The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness was significantly greater in the obsessive-compulsive disorder group compared to the control group (p˂0.001). Regarding the choriocapillaris flow area, the values for area with a radius of 1 mm, 2 mm and 3 mm were significantly lower in the obsessive-compulsive disorder group than in the control group (p=0.019, p=0.014, and p=0.004, respectively). There was a significant negative correlation between subfoveal choroidal thickness and choriocapillaris flow area with a radius of 1mm (r=-0.387, p=0.024).

CONCLUSION

Choroidal changes in obsessive-compulsive disorder patients suggest the choroidal features of uncomplicated pachychoroid. Obsessive-compulsive disorder may be prone to a spectrum of conditions characterized by pachychoroid features.

Association Between Dry Eye Disease and Newly Diagnosed Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between dry eye disease and patients with newly diagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

METHODS

Thirty treatment-naive patients with OCD and 30 healthy controls were included in this prospective study. The Ocular Surface Disease Index, tear breakup time, Schirmer I test, corneal and conjunctival staining grade (Oxford scale), and neutrophil-to-leucocyte ratio values were obtained for all participants.

RESULTS

The comparison of the patients with OCD and healthy controls showed significantly higher values in Ocular Surface Disease Index (34.8 vs. 20.8, P = 0.001), corneal Oxford scoring (0.9 vs. 0.6, P = 0.02), and conjunctival Oxford scoring (0.8 vs. 0.5, P = 0.04), with consistently lower values in the Schirmer I test (15.7 vs. 18.8, P = 0.043) and tear breakup time (9.1 vs. 12.9, P = 0.001). The mean neutrophil-to-leucocyte ratio values were significantly higher in the OCD group compared with the controls (2.4 ± 0.9 vs. 1.6 ± 0.4, respectively; P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study showed a relation between dry eye disease and patients with newly diagnosed OCD who were not using any psychiatric drug. Our findings suggest that inflammation, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of both diseases, may be responsible for this relationship.

Central choroidal thickness in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders: enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography findings

AIM

To measure the central choroidal thickness (ChT) in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders.

METHODS

Totally 41 anxiety patients (8-16y) and 35 healthy controls (age-matched) were evaluated. Complete ophthalmic examination was performed. Inclusion criteria were best corrected visual acuity ≥20/20, normal intraocular pressure (IOP; 10-21 mm Hg), and no systemic or ocular diseases according to history. The diagnosis of psychiatric disorders was determined using Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children Present-Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). Enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) was used to measure the central ChT.

RESULTS

The mean age was 12.18±3.24y in the patient group and 12.86±3.15y in the control group. Age and gender distribution of the two groups was similar. Central ChT mean value was 353.26±31.9 µm in anxiety patients while 318.75±60.9 µm in the control group. Mean central ChT was statistically significantly higher in the children and adolescents with anxiety disorders than healthy controls (P=0.002).

CONCLUSION

The children and adolescents with anxiety disorders have significantly thicker central ChT than controls. In the larger sample, longitudinal studies will contribute to the use of choroidal differences as a clinical marker for monitoring anxiety disorders.

Structural imaging of the retina in psychosis spectrum disorders: current status and perspectives

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Structural changes of the retina in schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders seem plausible as these conditions are accompanied by widespread morphological abnormalities of the brain. Advances in structural retinal imaging have led to the possibility of precise quantification of individual retinal layers, using optical coherence tomography (OCT) scanners.

RECENT FINDINGS

The aggregation of information related to OCT findings in schizophrenia has resulted in three metaanalyses, which are currently described. Areas where retinal changes were reported include retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell layer complex (GCC), macular volume, and macular thickness, but findings on affected retinal segments vary to some extent across studies. Discrepancies in individual studies could be because of small samples, heterogeneity within schizophrenia (phase of the illness, illness duration, predominant symptomatology), inconsistent reporting of antipsychotic therapy, insufficient control of confounding variables (somatic comorbidities, smoking, and so on), and use of the different types of OCT scanners.

SUMMARY

Exploration of potential disturbances in retinal architecture could provide new insights into neuronal changes associated with psychosis spectrum disorders, with potential to elucidate the nature and timing of developmental, progressive, inflammatory, and degenerative aspects of neuropathology and pathophysiology, and to assist with characterizing heterogeneity and facilitating personalized treatment approaches.