RETINAL NEURODEGENERATION IN HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE
The purpose was to analyze retinal morphology and to investigate the correlation with the clinical data in Huntington's disease (HD).Material and methods. A cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the retinal parameters in HD and healthy controls with the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT).Results. The range of the CAG (cytosine-adenine-guanine) repeat expansion size was 38-56 repeats, the range of Unified HD Rating Scale motor scores (UHDRS) was 36.3±29.7, and disease duration was 13.7±7.2 years in HD patients. A significant decreasein the ganglion cell complex thickness, average, temporal, inferior and nasal retinal nerve fiber layer in HD subjects was revealed inOCT examination in comparison with control group. An inverse correlation between the disease duration and the temporal retinal nerve fiber layer thickness was found.Conclusions. The localization of retinal thickness loss indicates a specific pattern of retinal neurodegeneration in HD, similar to Parkinson’s disease and mitochondrial diseases. The association with the disease duration confirms the progressive nature of these changes.