ArticlePloS one2020
Correlation between brain volume and retinal photoreceptor outer segment volume in normal aging and neurodegenerative diseases.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Diagnosing neurodegenerative disorders using retina as an external window: A systematic review of OCT-MRI correlations.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2025Pooled it
- A Systematic Review on Retinal Biomarkers to Diagnose Dementia from OCT/OCTA Images.Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports · 2023Pooled it
- The association between retina thinning and hippocampal atrophy in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment: a meta-analysis and systematic review.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2023Pooled it
- Association between retinal markers and cognition in older adults: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Retinal layer assessments as potential biomarkers for brain atrophy in the Rhineland Study.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Syntaxin-3 Regulates Tight Junction Assembly in Human Retinal Pigment Epithelium.Cell biochemistry and function · 2026Article
- Integrating retinal and brain imaging biomarkers for diagnosis of parkinson's disease: findings from a time-lagged cross-sectional persian cohort study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Exploring Alzheimer Disease from a Retinal and Ocular Perspective.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- SynPoC: a high-quality generative diffusion model for transforming ultra-low-field point-of-care MRI using high-field MRI representations.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Reexamine the link between retinal layer thickness and cognitive function after correction of axial length: the Beijing Eye Study 2011.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2025Article
- Keeping an eye on Parkinson's disease: color vision and outer retinal thickness as simple and non-invasive biomarkers.Journal of neurology · 2025Review
- Retinal biomarkers in schizophrenia spectrum disorders: evidence and implications for the neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative models.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
- Potential ocular indicators to distinguish posterior cortical atrophy and typical Alzheimer's disease: a cross-section study using optical coherence tomography angiography.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2024Article
- Potential Retinal Biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Applying Retinal Vascular Structures Characteristics Coupling with Cortical Visual System in Alzheimer's Disease Spectrum Patients.Brain sciences · 2023Article
- The correlation of retinal neurodegeneration and brain degeneration in patients with Alzheimer's disease using optical coherence tomography angiography and MRI.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2023Article
- Retinal neurodegeneration in metabolic syndrome: a spectral optical coherence tomography study.International journal of ophthalmology · 2023Article
- Associations Between Thinner Retinal Neuronal Layers and Suboptimal Brain Structural Integrity in a Middle-Aged Cohort.Eye and brain · 2023Article
- Using Optical Coherence Tomography to Screen for Cognitive Impairment and Dementia.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2021Article
- Retinal nerve fibre layer thickness reflects characteristics of brain grey and white matter.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeTo investigate the association between outer retinal layer metrics, including photoreceptor outer segment volume, on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) and brain volume on MRI in normal aging, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
methodsThis was an exploratory analysis of a cross-sectional cohort study that was approved by the Cleveland Clinic Institutional Review Board to evaluate neurodegenerative disorders. Subjects aged ≥ 50 were recruited. A comprehensive neurological exam, brain MRI with volumetric evaluation, and OCT were performed for each subject. Outer retinal layer parameters, including ellipsoid zone (EZ) to retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) volume (i.e., surrogate for panmacular photoreceptor outer segment volume), were evaluated with a novel OCT analysis platform.
resultsOf 85 subjects, 64 eyes of 64 subjects met MRI and OCT quality control criteria. Total brain volume (%ICV) significantly correlated with EZ-RPE volume in the normal cognition control group (n = 31, Pearson correlation coefficient 0.514, P < .01), the Parkinson's disease group (n = 19, Pearson correlation coefficient 0.482, P = .04), and the Alzheimer's dementia group (n = 14, Pearson correlation coefficient 0.526, P = .05). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that photoreceptor outer segment (i.e., EZ-RPE) volume was an independent, influential factor on total brain volume in all study subjects (Coefficient 15.2, 95% confidence interval 7.8-22.6, P < .001).
conclusionOuter retinal parameters on OCT may serve as a novel biomarker related to brain volume. This correlation was noted in control subjects suggesting a possible developmental link between retina and brain volume. This relationship was also maintained with atrophic neurodegenerative disorders. Further research is needed to explore possible threshold differences for underlying neurodegenerative disorders.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.