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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Do you have five minutes? That could be all you need to gauge and track the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS).
Researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md. report a simple and inexpensive eye exam might be all you need to detect brain shrinkage and nerve damage -- characteristics of advancing MS.
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The process called optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans the layers of nerve fibers of the retina in the back of the eye, similar to the slit lamp your optometrist uses. Researchers claim the process is painless, simpler and potentially more accurate than traditional MRI scans for this use.
This is an encouraging result, Peter Calabresi, M.D., lead author of the study, was quoted as saying. MRI is an imperfect tool that measures the result of many types of tissue loss rather than specifically nerve damage itself. With OCT, we can see exactly how healthy these cells are, potentially in advance of other symptoms.
Dr. Calabresi reported OCT scans take about one-tenth as long and cost one-tenth as much as the MRI. The OCT scan could be used not only to see how advanced a patients disease is currently, but could help doctors track the effectiveness of treatment methods over time.
Dr. Calabersi cautions optic nerve damage can point to a number of diseases and is not a unique diagnostic tool for MS. But he said such damage is one of the first recognizable symptoms of MS, so doctors could potentially diagnose patients before they suffer the physical limitations generally associated with its advanced stages.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Neurology, 2007;69:1603-1609
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