Reduced Occipital Gray Matter in Macular Degeneration and Glaucoma

Visual field deficits correlated with reduced gray-matter volume in the corresponding regions of the visual cortex, raising questions about the efficacy of emerging therapies for these two conditions.

Do ocular conditions that cause visual loss lead to secondary structural changes in cerebral cortex? The answer to this intriguing question has potential therapeutic implications. To find out, researchers examined nine patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and eight patients with primary open-angle glaucoma, whose conditions had caused central or paracentral defects in both eyes with sufficient overlap (>10 degrees in diameter) to create homonymous scotomata, for at least 3 years. The researchers obtained high-resolution T1-weighted structural images to examine gray-matter density, both in the whole brain and in regions of interest centered in occipital cortex.

The AMD group had reduced gray-matter density at the occipital pol…

Reviewing Author

Jason J. S. Barton, MD, PhD, FRCPC