Background: Progressive visual field defects, such as age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma, prevent normal stimulation of visual cortex. We investigated whether in the case of visual field defects, concentrations of metabolites such as N-acetylaspartate (NAA), a marker for degenerative processes, are reduced in the occipital brain region.

Methodology/principal Findings: Participants known with glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (the two leading causes of visual impairment in the developed world), and controls were examined by proton MR spectroscopic ((1)H-MRS) imaging. Absolute NAA, Creatine and Choline concentrations were derived from a single-voxel in the occipital region of each brain hemisphere. No significant differences in metabolites concentrations were found between the three groups.

Conclusions/significance: We conclude that progressive retinal visual field defects do not affect metabolite concentration in visual brain areas suggesting that there is no ongoing occipital degeneration. We discuss the possibility that metabolite change is too slow to be detectable.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1794168PMC
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0000222PLOS

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

visual field
16
field defects
16
retinal visual
8
age-related macular
8
macular degeneration
8
visual
7
occipital
4
occipital proton
4
proton magnetic
4
magnetic resonance
4

Similar Publications

Introduction: Tumorous growths in the sellar region pose significant clinical challenges due to their proximity to critical visual structures such as the optic chiasm and optic nerves. Given their proximity to the optic system, these tumors are often diagnosed due to a progressive decrease in visual acuity. Thus, surgical intervention is crucial to prevent irreversible damage, as timely decompression can halt the progression of edema and subsequent optic atrophy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To evaluate early response of retinal sensitivity (RS) and retinal morphology in diabetic macular edema (DME) patients after intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment.

Methods: Sixteen eyes of 12 DME patients were included in this study conducted prospectively. All eyes underwent functional and morphologic examination of the macular area using microperimetry and optical coherence tomography (OCT) before and after intravitreal anti-VEGF injection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Implications of optic disc rotation in the visual field progression of myopic open-angle glaucoma.

Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol

December 2024

Department of Ophthalmology, Cathay General Hospital, 280, Section 4, Ren-Ai Rd, Taipei, Taiwan, 106.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between the characteristics of optic disc rotation and visual field (VF) progression in patients with myopic open-angle glaucoma (OAG).

Methods: We included 53 eyes from 53 myopic OAG patients who were followed-up over a 3-year period. The characteristics of optic disc rotation including the degree of optic disc rotation, direction of optic disc rotation, and optic disc rotation-VF defect correspondence were investigated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We used machine learning to investigate the residual visual field (VF) deficits and macula retinal ganglion cell (RGC) thickness loss patterns in recovered optic neuritis (ON). We applied archetypal analysis (AA) to 377 same-day pairings of 10-2 VF and optical coherence tomography (OCT) macula images from 93 ON eyes and 70 normal fellow eyes ≥ 90 days after acute ON. We correlated archetype (AT) weights (total weight = 100%) of VFs and total retinal thickness (TRT), inner retinal thickness (IRT), and macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Typeface network and the principle of font pairing.

Sci Rep

December 2024

Department of Interior Architecture Design, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.

In a field traditionally driven by intuition and subjective judgment, this study presents a data-driven approach to typography, the art of arranging text. Leveraging a comprehensive dataset of font-use cases across diverse mediums, we employed Non-negative Matrix Factorization to extract three fundamental morphological characteristics of fonts: Serif vs. Sans-Serif, Basic vs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!