Measuring Blood Vessel Density in the Optic Nerve of Multiple Sclerosis Patients With OCTA

June 1, 2026 updated by: Sarah Abdul Fattah Saad, Fayoum University

Quantitative OCT Angiography Differences in Optic Nerve Vascular Density in Multiple Sclerosis: A Case-Control Study

The goal of this observational study is to learn about the effect of multiple sclerosis on the blood flow of the optic nerve of affected patients compared to normal subjects by OCTA. The main question it aims to answer is:

  1. Does MS change the blood flow in the optic nerve?
  2. If it does, can measuring this blood flow be used as a simple sign (a biomarker) to help doctors understand and manage MS?

We used a quick and painless eye scan called Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA). This special scan takes detailed pictures of the blood vessels in the optic nerve without needing any injections. We performed this scan on two groups of people: one group with MS and one group without MS, and then compare the results.

In simple terms, why is this important? If we can show that MS affects the optic nerve blood vessels, it could give us a new, quick way to monitor the disease and see how it is progressing, just by doing a simple eye scan.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The optic nerve is like the main cable that carries visual information from the eye to the brain. In Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the protective covering (called myelin) around nerve fibers, including those in the optic nerve. This often causes a condition called optic neuritis, which can lead to vision loss.

While we know MS damages the nerve fibers, we are now trying to understand how it affects the blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the optic nerve. Are these blood vessels damaged as well? Does reduced blood flow contribute to the nerve damage?

2. The Technology We Are Using

This study uses a advanced, non-invasive imaging technology called Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA).

What it does: The OCTA machine uses a safe, dim light beam to scan the optic nerve and macula. It works like a microscopic radar for blood vessels, allowing us to create very detailed, high-resolution 3D maps of the blood flow in the retina and optic nerve without any needles or injections.

What we measure: From these maps, we can quantitatively analyze the vessel density which is a percentage that tells us how much of a specific area is filled with functioning blood vessels. We will focus this measurement on the Radial Peripapillary Capillaries, which are the blood vessels that directly supply the optic nerve head.

3. The Purpose and Potential Impact of This Research

The main goal of this study is to determine if the blood vessel density in the optic nerve is a reliable biological marker (or biomarker) for MS.

A biomarker is an objective, measurable sign of a medical condition. If we can prove that changes in optic nerve blood flow are a consistent marker of MS, it could provide us with:

A new tool to help understand the disease activity in an individual.

A quick and painless way to potentially monitor how the disease is changing over time and whether treatments are effectively protecting the nervous system.

By comparing these detailed OCTA measurements between participants with and without MS, we hope to better understand the role of blood flow in the disease and contribute to improved future care for people living with MS.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
54

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Egypt
    • Faiyum Governorate
      • Al Fayyum, Faiyum Governorate, Egypt, 63514
        • Fayoum University hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

This case-control study enrolled two groups: group 1; 26 adults with a clinically definite diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (Cases) and group 2; 28 age- and sex-matched healthy adults with no history of neurological or significant ocular disease (Controls).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • group 1; patients with multiple sclerosis with optic neuritis.
  • group 2; normal healthy age matched controls

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Other optic nerve diseases as glaucoma, papilledema or conginetal anomalies.
  • Other macular diseases as AMD, CSR, scars …
  • Errors of refraction outside +4 and -6 D range.
  • Media opacity as cataracts or corneal opacities that may interfere with the quality of scans.
  • Signal strength index less than 4\10.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Cohort
26 eyes of patients with clinically definite MS
Diagnostic test: Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography
optic nerve head analysis as regards the vessel density and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and ganglion cell complex analysis as regards thickness and focal loss volume and global loss volume.
Healthy Control Cohort
28 eyes of age- and sex-matched normal subjects
Diagnostic test: Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography
optic nerve head analysis as regards the vessel density and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and ganglion cell complex analysis as regards thickness and focal loss volume and global loss volume.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
vessel density of the optic nerve head and peripapillary region measured by OCTA
Time Frame: Baseline
Difference in microvascular vessel density, as measured by Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA), in the optic nerve head and peripapillary region between patients with Multiple Sclerosis and healthy controls. Analysis will include the whole disc area, inside the disc, and individual quadrants.
Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
RNFL thickness
Time Frame: Baseline
Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) thickness, measured in micrometers, for the superior and inferior hemispheres of the optic nerve head.
Baseline
GCC thickness
Time Frame: Baseline
The thickness of the macular Ganglion Cell Complex (GCC) was measured in micrometers for the superior and inferior hemispheres. These measurements were then analyzed by the device's proprietary software to calculate the Focal Loss Volume (FLV) and Global Loss Volume (GLV) indices.
Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Fayoum University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 5, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 3, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 3, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 26, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 1, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 1, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • R687

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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