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Publication
When sex matters: differences in the central nervous system as imaged by OCT through the retina
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Background: Retinal texture has gained momentum as a source of biomarkers of neurodegeneration,
as it is sensitive to subtle differences in the central nervous system from texture analysis of
the neuroretina. Sex differences in the retina structure, as detected by layer thickness measurements
from optical coherence tomography (OCT) data, have been discussed in the literature. However, the
effect of sex on retinal interocular differences in healthy adults has been overlooked and remains
largely unreported. Methods: We computed mean value fundus images for the neuroretina layers as
imaged by OCT of healthy individuals. Texture metrics were obtained from these images to assess
whether women and men have the same retina texture characteristics in both eyes. Texture features
were tested for group mean differences between the right and left eye. Results: Corrected texture
differences exist only in the female group. Conclusions: This work illustrates that the differences
between the right and left eyes manifest differently in females and males. This further supports the
need for tight control and minute analysis in studies where interocular asymmetry may be used as a
disease biomarker, and the potential of texture analysis applied to OCT imaging to spot differences in
the retina.
Description
Keywords
Texture analysis Neuroretina Central nervous system Sex differences Interocular asymmetry Optical coherence tomography