Session Information
Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Session Title: Parkinsonisms and Parkinson-Plus
Session Time: 1:45pm-3:15pm
Location: Agora 3 West, Level 3
Objective: To analyze the relationship between interocular difference of retinal thickness and motor asymmetry in Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Background: It is known that the early stages of PD are characterized by asymmetry of motor symptoms. In addition to motor symptoms, diminished visual acuity, color vision and contrast sensitivity are some of the visual disturbances found in PD. There was rarely reported about the congruence of asymmetry between motor symptoms and retinal thickness.
Method: Prospective case-control series. Sixty-two (62) eyes of 31 patients with PD and 62 eyes of 31 age- and gender-matched controls were analyzed. Ophthalmologic examinations including optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans were performed in both groups, and in the patients with PD, motor function was evaluated on the Unified Parkinson’ s Disease Rating Scale part III (UPDRS-III) to determine the laterality.Peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (pRNFLT) and macular retinal thickness (mRT) were measured in both eyes, after which the interocular asymmetry (defined as [Right eye – Left eye]) of the OCT parameter was determined. Additionally, the left and right sides of the UPDRS-III were evaluated respectively, based on which the Symmetric index “| right-left UPDRS score | / (right + left UPDRS score)” was calculated.
Results: The average and quadrant pRNFLT and mRT between the two groups were not different, but the interocular asymmetry of average mRT and nasal mRT were significantly higher in the PD patients than in the controls (P=0.015 and 0.034). The sum of UPDRS-III showed a discrepancy between the right and left sides (P = 0.027); the calculated Symmetric index was 0.21 ± 0.18, which suggested asymmetric motor symptoms. The calculated Symmetric index of UPDRS-III showed significant relations for asymmetry [OD – OS] of average mRT and nasal mRT (P=0.018 and 0.007).
Conclusion: In the PD patients, the interocular asymmetry of mRT was larger than in the controls, and the motor symptoms were asymmetric. Additionally, the interocular asymmetry of mRT showed a significant correlation with motor-symptom laterality.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
W. Suh, JY. Hong, SY. Kang. The congruence of asymmetry between motor symptoms and retinal thickness in Parkinson’s disease [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2019; 34 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-congruence-of-asymmetry-between-motor-symptoms-and-retinal-thickness-in-parkinsons-disease/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2019 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-congruence-of-asymmetry-between-motor-symptoms-and-retinal-thickness-in-parkinsons-disease/