Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer and Macular Thickness Changes During Pregnancy

The Baruch Padeh Medical Center, Poriya

Overview

Purpose: Primary: to prospectively measure Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) and macular thickness changes during pregnancy by Optical coherence tomography Secondary: The effect of pregnancy abnormalities on RNFL and macular thickness in participants who develop systemic or ocular complications during the study period.

There are several known ophthalmic physiologic changes in pregnancy: 1. Refractive Change: progesterone-mediated changes in fluid content partially accounts for refractive change of lens and cornea; myopic shift of less than 1 D was observed in in 15% of participating pregnant women 2. Night vision decreased mainly with low serum vitamin A levels in pregnant women. 3. Fall of the IOP in second half of pregnancy (about 10% drop) 4. Corneal changes (increased thickness; decreased sensitivity) = contact lens intolerance The retina and optic nerve are considered part of central nervous system, the retina and choroid are highly vascularized. Due to changes in CSF and brain volume, vascular and fluid changes all over the pregnant woman's body we expect to find changes in RNFL and macular thickness during pregnancy.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Conditions

Pregnancy Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness Macular Thickness

Eligibility

Sex: FEMALEMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 45 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * 1st trimester (6-14w) pregnant healthy women * No known medical problems related to their current pregnancy on recruitment * Age 18-45yrs * No known retinal or optic nerve disease * Refraction between +3.0 and -4.0 diopters * Agrees to participate in the study Exclusion Criteria: * Retinal or optic nerve disease * Refractive errors more than +3.0 and -4.0. * If already finished 14w gestation when recruited to the 1st OCT examination * Known to have HTN or DM before gestation * Ocular media abnormality that obscures OCT view or examination

Locations (1)

Baruch Padeh Medical Center

Poria – Neve Oved, Lower Galeli, Israel

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Retinal nerve fiber layer(RNFL) and Macular thickness by Optical coherence tomography(OCT) during pregnancy

The RNFL, measured in micrometers, will be followed up during the study. Every trimester (starting at the 1st trimester) an OCT will be performed measuring the thickness of the RNFL. An OCT will be performed 3 months postpartum as a control. The Macular thickness will be measured in the same manner.

Time frame: 1 year

Secondary Outcomes

Effect of systemic and ocular diseases on Retinal Fiber Layer and Macula during pregnancy

If systemic or ocular diseases appear during the study, they will be followed up and observed for changes in retinal fiber layer thickness and macular thickness.

Time frame: 1 year

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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