Lateral Geniculate Nucleus Volume Determined on MRI Correlates With Corresponding Ganglion Cell Layer Loss in Acquired Human Postgeniculate Lesions

PURPOSE: To quantitatively assess lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) volume loss in the presence of lesions in the postgeniculate pathway and its correlation with optical coherence tomography retinal parameters. METHODS: This was a case control study of patients recruited at the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. Nine patients who were suffering from lesions in the postgeniculate pathway acquired at least 3 months earlier participated. Retinal parameters were analyzed using spectral domain optical coherence tomography and a newly developed magnetic resonance imaging protocol with improved contrast to noise ratio was applied to measure LGN volume. RESULTS: The affected LGN volume in the patients (mean volume 73.89 ± 39.08 mm(3)) was significantly smaller compared with the contralateral unaffected LGN (mean volume 131.43 ± 12.75 mm(3)), as well as compared with healthy controls (mean volume 107 ± 24.4 mm(3)). Additionally, the ganglion cell layer thickness corresponding with the affected versus unaffected side within the patient group differed significantly (mean thickness 40.5 ± 4.11 µm vs 45.7 ± 4.79 µm) compared with other retinal parameters. A significant linear correlation could also be shown between relative LGN volume loss and ganglion cell layer thickness decrease. CONCLUSIONS: Corresponding LGN volume reduction could be shown in patients with postgeniculate lesions using a newly developed magnetic resonance imaging protocol. LGN volume decrease correlated with ganglion cell layer thickness reduction as a sign of trans-synaptic retrograde neuronal degeneration.