{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T16:16:13Z","timestamp":1789402573585,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,12]],"date-time":"2023-05-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1683849600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The aim of this study was to assess the morpho-functional involvement of the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and of the visual pathways in patients with superficial (ODD-S) or deep (ODD-D) optic disc drusen. This study enrolled 17 patients with ODD (mean age of 59.10 \u00b1 12.68 years) providing 19 eyes and 20 control subjects (mean age 58.62 \u00b1 8.77 years) providing 20 eyes. We evaluated the following: best-corrected visual acuity, visual field mean deviation (MD), the amplitude (A) of Pattern Electroretinogram (PERG), the implicit time (IT) and A of Visual Evoked Potentials (VEPs), retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFL-T) and ganglion cell thickness (GC-T). In ODD-S eyes, the drusen visible height was measured. ODD-D and ODD-S were detected in 26.3% and 73.7% of ODD eyes, respectively. Significantly (p &lt; 0.01) reduced MD, PERG A, VEP amplitude, RNFL-T and GC-T values and significantly (p &lt; 0.01) increased VEP IT values were found in the ODD Group as compared to the Control one. In the ODD Group, no significant correlation (p &gt; 0.01) between PERG As and VEP ITs was found. In ODD-S, the visible height was significantly correlated (p &lt; 0.01) with reduced MD, PERG As and RNFL-T and with increased PSD and VEP IT values. Our findings suggest that ODD might induce morpho-functional changes in RGCs and their fibers and an unrelated visual pathway dysfunction leading or not leading to visual field defects. The observed morpho-functional impairment should be ascribed to an alteration in retrograde (from the axons to the RGCs) and anterograde (from the RGCs up to the visual cortex) axoplasmic transport. In ODD-S eyes, a minimum visible height of 300 microns represented the threshold for the abnormalities, suggesting that \u201cthe higher the ODD, the worse the impairment\u201d.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm12103432","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,12]],"date-time":"2023-05-12T09:56:18Z","timestamp":1683885378000},"page":"3432","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Morpho-Functional Assessment of Retinal Ganglion Cells and Visual Pathways in Patients with Optic Disc Drusen: Superficial Drusen Visible Height as a Marker of Impairment"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5200-6071","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giulio","family":"Antonelli","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"IRCCS\u2014Fondazione Bietti, 00198 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5563-1243","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lucia","family":"Ziccardi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IRCCS\u2014Fondazione Bietti, 00198 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lucilla","family":"Barbano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IRCCS\u2014Fondazione Bietti, 00198 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Antonio","family":"Di Renzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IRCCS\u2014Fondazione Bietti, 00198 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vincenzo","family":"Parisi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IRCCS\u2014Fondazione Bietti, 00198 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"373","DOI":"10.1016\/0039-6257(77)90041-8","article-title":"Drusen of the Optic Disc","volume":"21","author":"Friedman","year":"1977","journal-title":"Surv. 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