This research looked at images from 22 patients who had either arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy or nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. The team examined whether a bright spot known as PHOMS was present and measured other retinal structures like nerve fiber layers and cell volumes. They used data from two earlier studies that had already collected these scans.
The results showed that PHOMS was seen in 36.4% of eyes with arteritic disease and 18.2% of eyes with nonarteritic disease. However, the difference was not statistically significant, meaning the study could not prove a true link between the disease type and the presence of this spot. Other measurements of retinal thickness and cell volume did not show clear differences between the two groups.
The researchers suggest that seeing PHOMS in these patients may reflect damage from the lack of blood flow rather than the specific cause of the disease. Because the study was small and retrospective, the findings are uncertain. Readers should not assume this feature predicts one disease over the other or that it changes how doctors should treat these conditions right now.
