Synaptic injury in the inner plexiform layer of the retina is associated with progression in multiple sclerosis.

While neurodegeneration underlies the pathological basis for permanent disability in multiple sclerosis (MS), predictive biomarkers for progression are lacking. Using an animal model of chronic MS, we find that synaptic injury precedes neuronal loss and identify thinning of the inner plexiform layer (IPL) as an early feature of inflammatory demyelination-prior to symptom onset. As neuronal domains are anatomically segregated in the retina and can be monitored longitudinally, we hypothesize that thinning of the IPL could represent a biomarker for progression in MS.

Characterizing Fixational Eye Motion Variance Over Time as Recorded by the Tracking Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to characterize the benign biological variance of fixational microsaccades in a control population using a tracking scanning laser ophthalmoscope (TSLO), accounting for machine accuracy and precision, to determine ideal testing conditions to detect pathologic change in fixational eye motion (FEM).

Methods: We quantified the accuracy and precision of the TSLO, analyzing measurements made by three operators on a model eye. Repeated, 10-second retinal motion traces were then recorded in 17 controls, 3 times a day (morning, afternoon, and evening), on 3 separate days.

Trainee and Program Director Perspectives on Meaningful Patient Attribution and Clinical Outcomes Data.

Background: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education specifies that trainees must receive clinical outcomes and quality benchmark data at specific levels related to institutional patient populations. Program directors (PDs) are challenged to identify meaningful data and provide them in formats acceptable to trainees.

Objective: We sought to understand what types of patients, data/metrics, and data delivery systems trainees and PDs prefer for supplying trainees with clinical outcomes data.