Analysis of Neurodegenerative Process Within Visual Ways In Multiple Sclerosis
Analysis of Neurodegenerative Process Within Visual Ways In Multiple Sclerosis
This study will interest in the pathophysiology of silent retinal axonal loss in multiple
 sclerosis. Recent studies have suggested that silent retinal axonal loss (no past history of
 optic neuritis [ON]) may be due to inflammatory lesions within the optic radiations and a
 transsynaptic degenerative process. The objective is to measure the exact role of silent
 optic nerve lesion in the occurrence of silent retinal axonal loss by performing OCT, brain
 and optic nerve MRI in a cohort of patients without recent disease activity.
This study will interest in the neurodegenerative process reported in multiple sclerosis
 within the visual ways.

 Symptomatic and asymptomatic retinal axonal loss in multiple sclerosis (MS) have largely been
 described. Many recent optical coherence tomography (OCT) studies have suggested that
 subclinical retinal axonal loss (no past history of optic neuritis [ON]) observed in MS
 mainly due to inflammatory and demyelinating lesions within the optic radiations and a
 retrograde transsynaptic degenerative process. None of these studies clearly tried to
 investigate the role of asymptomatic optic nerve lesion(s) in subclinical retinal axonal loss
 occurence.

 The main objective of the study is to measure the exact role of silent optic nerve lesion in
 the occurrence of silent retinal axonal loss by performing OCT, brain and optic nerve MRI.
 The study will focus on a cohort of patients without recent disease activity in order to
 exclude or minimize the risk of recent and old lesion occurence on the visual ways, which
 could be a bias in our analysis.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) patients treated by natalizumab for more
 than 6 months

 -  JohnCunninghamVirus (JCV) index < 0.9

 -  patients followed in our MS center from the beginning of the disease

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  ophthalmologic diseases

 -  diabetes mellitus

 -  contra-indication to MRI