Basis for Visual Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis: Beyond Retinal Ganglion Cells
Abstract
This project directly addresses the focus area Biology and Measurement of MS Symptoms by investigating novel changes we recently discovered in the back of eyes of people with MS. The objective of this research is to better understand what causes visual symptoms in MS by relating the changes that we discovered to visual symptoms and visual function in people with MS. In addition, we will study these changes in more detail and over time to better understand what they represent and what causes them. This research is important because visual symptoms are common in people with MS. Better understanding of how MS impacts vision and the eyes is important for two reasons. First, we don’t understand all of the reasons that people with MS have visual symptoms. Improving understanding of how the eyes are involved in MS and how this causes visual symptoms will guide development of treatments for people with MS who have trouble with their vision. Second, MS changes in the eye are attractive as diagnostic tests for MS because we can measure changes in the structure of the eyes much more easily than in the brain. Thus, studying vision and eyes in MS might also identify new ways to monitor MS, and help health care providers make treatment decisions. The novel changes in the eyes of people with MS that we are studying can be measured in awake people using state-of-the-art cameras, focusing and image processing techniques. These appear to be unique to MS and associated with visual capability. Thus, they are well-suited to potential use in the clinical care setting and show promise as a way to understand and measure visual symptoms in MS. This research is novel because we are studying newly discovered changes in the eyes of people with MS that have never before been described in normal humans or humans with other eye or brain diseases. We are using state-of-the-art eye imaging techniques that have not been widely used to study MS. This exciting project will help us to better understand the relevance of these newly discovered changes with regard to visual symptoms in people with MS. When this research is completed the results will help people with MS and the scientific community by advancing understanding of how MS affects the eyes. Specifically, we will understand how different changes in the eye cause visual symptoms in people with MS and how they are related to other features of MS. This will open up exciting new research avenues regarding understanding of MS and treating visual symptoms in MS. In the longer term (5-10 years) these research avenues may lead to clinical diagnostic tests that measure visual pathway involvement in MS, guide strategies for treating visual symptoms in people with MS, and maybe even predict MS progression and guide treatment decisions in people with MS.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 05, 2021
- Source ID
- W81XWH2110939
Entities
People
- Heather E. Moss
Organizations
- Stanford University
- United States Army