RETINAL NERVE-FIBER LAYER ABNORMALITIES IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) photographs from 26 patients with Alz heimer's disease and 23 normal, age-matched, control subjects were rev iewed for quality and abnormalities by two observers. A higher proport ion of Alzheimer's patients showed RNFL abnormalities when compared to control subjects, There was some disagreement between the two observe rs regarding quality and frequency of abnormalities, reflecting subopt imal quality of the photographs obtained in patients with advanced Alz heimer's disease, Although these findings add to the clinical and hist opathological evidence that ganglion cell degeneration occurs in Alzhe imer's disease, the difficulty in obtaining and evaluating retinal ner ve fiber layer photographs, especially in advanced cases, may limit th e clinical usefulness of retinal nerve fiber layer analysis in such pa tients.