Student Researchers' Society Topics

Autoimmune diseases often have ocular involvement, even as the first manifestation of the disease. Most common changes are dry eyes, keratitis, corneal ulceration, conjunctivitis. Intraocular or periocular inflammation occurs. Different pathologies can change in tear production and composition, corneal, retinal neurons, as well as retinal small blood vessels. These structures can be examined directly with modern non-invasive tools. Neurodegeneration and neuroinflammatory processes can be identified in the cornea and retina.

In tear diagnostics, the Lacrydiag (Quantel Medical) device enables a more precise understanding of the phases of tear film and changes of the tear film.

Corneal dendritic cells and neurons can be examined with the non-invasive in vivo confocal microscope (Heidelberg).

Optical coherence tomography (Triton) is a non-invasive imaging procedure that provides a high-resolution image of the layers of the retina. Neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory processes affecting the retina can be identified by complex analysis of the nerve fiber layer, ganglion cells, and capillary vessels.

The purpose of our investigation is to identify biomarkers that can help to get a more precise understanding of the pathomechanism of the disease and to estimate progression.

Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) is the most common acute optic neuropathy in individuals over 50 years old. It is divided into two main forms: arteritic AION (AAION), typically associated with giant cell arteritis, and non-arteritic AION (NAION), which is related to vascular risk factors. Both subtypes affect the optic nerve head (ONH), but their structural characteristics may differ.

Advances in swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) allow for high-resolution imaging of both superficial and deep ONH structures. These imaging tools offer the opportunity to assess subtle morphologic changes in the optic nerve and may support the differentiation between AAION and NAION.

The aim of this study is to compare ONH morphology in patients with AAION and NAION using SS-OCT, and to examine these features in relation to healthy controls. An additional objective is to explore long-term structural changes in the optic nerve head over several years following the acute phase of AION.