The largest and most robust differences between the eyes of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and control eyes were found in the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and macular ganglion cell layer and inner plexiform layer (GCIPL), according to a recent study. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, investigators searched for studies in which spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) was used to look at the retina in people with MS with or without optic neuritis in medical literature between November 22, 1991, and April 19, 2016. They found:

• Of 25,497 records identified, 110 articles were eligible and 40 reported data (in total 5,776 eyes from patients with MS [1,667 MS-associated optic neuritis (MSON) eyes and 4,109 MS without optic neuritis (MSNON) eyes] and 1,697 eyes from healthy controls).
• Compared with control eyes, the RNFL showed thinning in MSON eyes and in MSNON eyes.
• The macula showed RNFL thinning of −6·18 μm in MSON eyes and −2·15 μm in MSNON eyes compared with control eyes.
• Atrophy of the macular GCIPL was −16·42 μm for MSON eyes and −6·31 μm for MSNON eyes compared with control eyes.