Choroidal thickness, Macular thickness and Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer thickness by OCT in non-pregnant, pregnant and post menopausal women

Abstract

OCT has evolved over the past decade as one of the most important ancillary tests in ophthalmic practice. OCT makes it possible to obtain noninvasive, rapid, objective, high-resolution, cross-sectional imaging of the retina ,the (RNFL) and the optic nerve head and also permits direct, real-time imaging of ocular pathology that previously could not be visualized using traditional methods. Pregnancy hormones may lead to an increase in fluid volume in many tissues of the body. From this point of view an increase in both total macular volume (TMV) and foveal thickness (FT) can be expected and it can be investigated how these alterations affect the visual functions (visual acuity and visual field). The choroid, which is one of the most highly vascularized tissues characterized by the highest blood flow to tissue volume ratio in the whole body, may be especially susceptible to haemodynamic and hormonal changes taking place in pregnancy, which may affect its thickness . Menopause is a physiological life period that potentially affects various organs and systems .In the postmenopausal period, many organs and systems of the body are susceptible to postmenopausal sex hormones deficiency. Therefore, a wide spectrum of signs and symptoms associated with many organs may be clinically observed in menopause. Eye is one of the organs affected by menopause. Thus, menopause may cause major ocular changes.