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Assessment of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in children with vitamin B12 deficiency

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Abstract

Purpose

Vitamin B12 deficiency is a worldwide problem. It affects all ages, including children. It is one of the most common nutritional disorders and can cause harmful effects on the nervous system. In this study, we compared the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) in a healthy control group with children with vitamin B12 deficiency. In our study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of vitamin B12 deficiency on the RNFLT in children with the optical coherence tomography (OCT) method.

Methods

Sixty-six children with a diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency (patient group) and 66 age- and sex-matched healthy children (control group) were enrolled in this prospectively designed study. Blood counts, vitamin B12 levels, folate levels, and full biochemical parameters were obtained for all the subjects in each group. Peripapillary RNFLT measurements were performed with Cirrus HD spectral domain OCT.

Results

The thickness of the superior retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in the vitamin B12 deficiency group was significantly lower than that of the control group (p = 0.037). Although the average thickness of the RNFL was lower in the patient group, there was no statistically significant differences (p = 0.216). In the vitamin B12 deficiency group, the average RNFL thickness and the superior RNFL thickness were significantly correlated with vitamin B12 levels (r 1 = 0.353, p 1 < 0.004 and r 2 = 0.416, p 2 = 0.001, respectively).

Conclusion

Our study showed that a deficiency in vitamin B12, elsewhere it is important for the development of the central nervous system, is associated with a reduction in the thickness of the superior RNFL.

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Conflict of interest

No conflict of interest or funding to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Rize, Turkey

    Serdar Özkasap

  2. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Rize, Turkey

    Kemal Türkyilmaz, Veysi Öner & Mustafa Durmuş

  3. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Rize, Turkey

    Selim Dereci & Tuğba Calapoğlu

  4. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Rize, Turkey

    Medine Cumhur Cüre

Authors
  1. Serdar Özkasap
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  2. Kemal Türkyilmaz
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  3. Selim Dereci
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  4. Veysi Öner
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  5. Tuğba Calapoğlu
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  7. Mustafa Durmuş
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Correspondence to Serdar Özkasap.

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Özkasap, S., Türkyilmaz, K., Dereci, S. et al. Assessment of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in children with vitamin B12 deficiency. Childs Nerv Syst 29, 2281–2286 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-013-2138-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-013-2138-0

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