ABSTRACT
Early diagnosis of multiple sclerosis [MS] disability is very important in managing patients. The aim of this study is to use Heidelberg Retinal Tomography [HRT] to evaluate the Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer [RNFL] of MS patient as a predictor factor of their disability scales. In this cross-sectional study a total of 69 patients with Relapsing-Remitting MS [RR.MS] were selected based on the revised McDonald criteria. They were examined by a neurologist to calculate their Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] scores. Patients' demographic information and related data such as history of Optic Neuritis [ON] and used Interferones were collected. Patients were referred to ophthalmology department in Rasool-e-Akram Hospital for assessment of their RNFL thickness using HRT method. Data was analyzed by SPSS software and p<0.05 was considered to be significant. The range of patient's age was 17 to 59 years. The mean of EDSS scores of men and women were 2.69 micrometer and 2.86 micrometer that showed no significant difference [p=0.63]. Spearman Correlation showed that there is no significant correlation between EDSS and mean RNFL thickness in both left and right eyes [p=0.081 for the right and p=0.052 for the left]. Also, there was no significant correlation between EDSS and mean RNFL thickness of both eyes in patients with or without optic neuritis [p=0.66, 0.28]. Mean RNFL thickness of both eyes showed no significant difference in patients with and without optic neuritis [0.209]. This study pointed out that no decrease was detected in RNFL thickness by increasing EDSS scores using HRT method. There are evidence that both HRT and Optical Coherence Tomography [OCT] methods can show decrease of RNFL but OCT appears to be more sensitive