Ultra-High-Field MRI Morphometry of the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus in Patients with Advanced Visual Loss Due to Late-Stage Retinitis Pigmentosa
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background/Objectives: To investigate the volume of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in patients with advanced retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Methods: Nineteen patients with advanced RP (mean age 52 years and mean duration of illness 357 months) and twenty-one age-matched normal subjects have been examined using 7 Tesla MRI of the brain. Brain segmentation was carried out with the “recon-all” function in the FreeSurfer software (version 7.4.1) package. Results: The volumes of the left and right LGN were significantly smaller in those patients with RP, in comparison to the controls. We found a significant positive correlation between the volume of the left LGN and the right eye best-corrected visual acuity in the RP group. Conclusions: Late-stage RP leads to a significant reduction in LGN volume, as measured with 7 Tesla MRI. The volume of the left LGN was correlated with the visual function of the right eye in patients with late-stage RP. The statistical power of the results is limited by there being a low number of RP patients included in this study, which is due to the low prevalence of this rare eye disease.
Source: Brain Sciences
Institutions: Medical University of Lublin, Lublin University of Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,654
OpenAlex ID: W7140596042