Posters

Nerve fibers alterations in patients with acquired amyloidosis detected by confocal corneal microscopy

Poster Details

First Author: S.Fradelos GREECE

Co Author(s): S. Fradelos   K. Panagiotis   A. Komninou   E. Kastritis   G. Tsivgoulis   A. Voudouri     

Abstract Details

Purpose:

Small-fiber neuropathy (SFN) is an important feature of light-chain (AL) amyloidosis. There is limited data considering the potential role of Confocal Corneal Microscopy (CCM) in evaluating small-fiber alterations in this group of patients.

Setting:

1st Department of Neurology “Aeginition” Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Department of Clinical Therapeutics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Opthalmological Center “Voudouri Adamantia”, Athens; Greece.

Methods:

In this single-center, observational study both corneas of 10 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven light-chain (AL) amyloidosis, underwent examination with the Heidelberg Retina Tomography Confocal Corneal Microscope. All images of the central corneal subbasal nerve plexus were analyzed by using the software ACCMetrics. Valuable parameters as the Corneal Nerve Fiber Length (CNFL), the Corneal Nerve Fiber Density (CNFD) and the Corneal Nerve Branch Density (CNBD) were automatically calculated. The mean of each patient’s measurements was compared to the lower (0.05th quantile) normative reference values, adjusted according to age and sex.

Results:

Seven patients were female (70%); median age was 61.5 [interquartile range (IQR): 12.5]. CNFL, CNFD and CNBD were measured in all participants. Moreover the CNFL, CNFD and CNBD mean scores were found lower than the fifth quantile of the reference values in n=8, n=6 and n=4 patients respectively.

Conclusions:

CNFL seems to be shorter in patients with SFN due to AL. CCM might be a promising, non-invasive technique for the monitoring of this group of patients however case-control studies with larger samples are needed to confirm our observations and further define the place of CCM in clinical practice.

Financial Disclosure:

None