Retinal nerve fiber layer structure abnormalities in patients with Neuro-Behcet's disease.

PURPOSE: Our aim was the evaluation of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and central macular thickness (CMT) in patients with Neuro-Behcet's disease (NBD) and to compare the results with healthy control subjects. METHODS: We recruited 50 eyes of 25 patients with NBD and 42 eyes of 21 age-matched healthy control subjects. Patients and control subjects underwent a thorough ophthalmic examination, including retinal nerve fiber layer and macular thickness measurements by optical coherence tomography. RESULTS: No significant difference was found between groups for age, sex, intra-ocular pressure and central corneal thickness measurements. The average RNFL in patients with NBD was significantly lower than that of healthy controls (86.92 +/- 18.36 mum vs. 99.74 +/- 8.73 mum; p = 0.00). There was significant thinning of the RNFL in three of four quadrants of the peripapillary area, superior (107.22 +/- 30.91 mum vs. 125.57 +/- 20.97 mum; p = 0.00), inferior (110.36 +/- 25.57 mum vs. 132.19 +/- 12.71 mum; p = 0.00) and nasal (68.84 +/- 18.47 mum vs. 74.98 +/- 11.42 mum; p = 0.05), in patients with NBD. Average CMT was significantly lower in NBD patients than in control subjects (244.06 +/- 26.25 mum vs. 261.69 +/- 25.71 mum; p = 0.00). CONCLUSIONS: There are significant differences in average RNFL and CMT between the two groups. RNFL and CMT thicknesses are reduced in patients with NBD compared with the healthy controls.