Hyperreflective retinal foci are associated with retinal degeneration after optic neuritis in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and multiple sclerosis.

Background: Hyperreflective retinal foci (HRF) visualized by optical coherence tomography (OCT) potentially represent clusters of microglia. We compared HRF frequencies and their association with retinal neurodegeneration between people with clinically isolated syndrome (pwCIS), multiple sclerosis (pwMS), aquaporin 4-IgG positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (pwNMOSD), and healthy controls (HC)-as well as between eyes with (ONeyes) and without a history of optic neuritis (ONeyes).

Methods: Cross-sectional data of pwCIS, pwMS, and pwNMOSD with previous ON and HC were acquired at Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin.