{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T23:54:13Z","timestamp":1773273253278,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773187200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The eye has shown potential as a reliable, readily accessible and clinically relevant site for investigating patients with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) shows promise in revealing new metabolic and vascular elements driving multiple sclerosis (MS) disease pathology. This study aimed to explore correlations between OCTA parameters and clinical characteristics in newly diagnosed relapsing\u2013remitting MS (RRMS) patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, forty-one newly diagnosed RRMS patients underwent comprehensive evaluations, including neurological examinations, functional and cognitive tests (9-Hole Peg Test, Montreal Cognitive Assessment), and OCT\/OCTA scans. Multiple regression analyses assessed correlations between OCT\/OCTA parameters and baseline clinical characteristics. Results: Lower superficial capillary plexus (SCP) vessel density was associated with longer disease duration, higher EDSS scores (visual, pyramidal, cerebellar, ambulation), and impaired 9-Hole Peg Test performance, especially in the non-dominant hand. Higher values of choriocapillaris (CC) flow voids correlated with worse cognitive performance (MoCA). Structural OCT parameters showed limited clinical correlations. Conclusions: OCTA-derived parameters are associated with disability, fine motor function, and cognitive performance in newly diagnosed RRMS patients without prior ON. These findings suggest that retinal vascular alterations may reflect early neurodegenerative processes and provide complementary information beyond structural OCT metrics. OCTA may represent a sensitive, non-invasive imaging biomarker for patient assessment in early MS.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics16060828","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T09:00:37Z","timestamp":1773219637000},"page":"828","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Correlations Between OCTA Parameters and Clinical Changes in Patients Newly Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Ion Iulian","family":"Enache","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Neurology Department, University Emergency Hospital Bucharest, 050098 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4315-9292","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vlad Eugen","family":"Tiu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Neurology Department, Elias University Emergency Hospital, 011461 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"C\u0103t\u0103lina Andreea","family":"Anghel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neurology Department, Elias University Emergency Hospital, 011461 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alina","family":"Popa Cherecheanu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, University Emergency Hospital Bucharest, 050098 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-4996-2656","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mihai","family":"Bostan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, University Emergency Hospital Bucharest, 050098 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6474-5293","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jacqueline","family":"Chua","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore 169856, Singapore"},{"name":"Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117575, Singapore"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chi","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore 169856, Singapore"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jia Wei","family":"Cheong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore 169856, Singapore"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Leopold","family":"Schmetterer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore 169856, Singapore"},{"name":"Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117575, Singapore"},{"name":"SERI-NTU Advanced Ocular Engineering (STANCE), Singapore 637553, Singapore"},{"name":"School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637616, Singapore"},{"name":"Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria"},{"name":"Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria"},{"name":"Aier Hospital Group, Changsha 410015, China"},{"name":"Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe De Rothschild, 75019 Paris, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8532-6218","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristina","family":"Tiu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neurology Department, University Emergency Hospital Bucharest, 050098 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"44","DOI":"10.1038\/nrneurol.2012.227","article-title":"The retina as a window to the brain\u2014From eye research to CNS disorders","volume":"9","author":"London","year":"2013","journal-title":"Nat. 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