Participants
This prospective study was approved by the local ethics committee and was conducted according to the Helsinki Declaration. All adult participants provided written informed consent to participate in the study.
Between February 2019 and August 2019, both optic nerves of patients with MS and healthy participants who were referred by the Neurology Clinic of our institution were examined. MS was diagnosed by an experienced neurologist in compliance with the revised McDonald criteria, and duration of the disease and the clinical rating scale called “Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS)” score was also recorded. Patients diagnosed with two types of MS; Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS) or Secondary-Progressive MS (SPMS) were included in the study. Patients had previous optic neuritis diagnosed based on typical history, clinical and radiological findings.
Patients with a history of orbital surgical intervention and trauma, systemic diseases (hypertension, diabetes mellitus), infections with optic nerve involvement (meningitis, syphilis, tuberculosis), disorders that cause optic nerve damage (cranial vasculitis, Graves’ disease, autoimmune diseases, etc.) were excluded from the study.