{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,6]],"date-time":"2026-05-06T02:27:27Z","timestamp":1778034447891,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,21]],"date-time":"2025-08-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1755734400000},"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>Background: Considering the lack of studies regarding the localized evaluation of the macular inner retina in multiple sclerosis patients without optic neuritis (MSnoON eyes), we investigated the structure and function of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) located in different macular areas. Methods: In 24 MSnoON patients (mean age: 45.22 \u00b1 5.57 years; 14 females and 10 males; mean MS disease duration: 11.07 \u00b1 5.88 years) and in 30 age-similar (mean age: 45.09 \u00b1 5.08 years) control subjects, complete ophthalmological examination, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and multifocal photopic negative response (mfPhNR) were performed. The ganglion cell layer thickness (GCL+-T) via OCT and the response amplitude density (RAD) through mfPhNR were measured from localized macular regions, including rings and Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) sectors. Results: When comparing MSnoON data from all tested areas with respect to the controls, macular GCL+-T and mfPhNR RAD mean values were found to be significantly (ANOVA, p &lt; 0.01) reduced. In the MSonON group, considering both rings and sectors, the GCL+-T values were significantly and linearly correlated (Pearson\u2019s test, p &lt; 0.01) to the mfPhNR RAD values. Conclusions: In MS, even in the absence of optic neuritis, potential primary morpho-functional involvement of the inner macular elements can occur. This impairment widely involves all macular areas and sectors.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14165919","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,22]],"date-time":"2025-08-22T07:41:45Z","timestamp":1755848505000},"page":"5919","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Structural and Functional Assessment of the Macular Inner Retinal Layers in Multiple Sclerosis Eyes Without History of Optic Neuropathy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Lucilla","family":"Barbano","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"IRCCS\u2013Fondazione Bietti, Via Livenza 1, 00198 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5563-1243","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lucia","family":"Ziccardi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IRCCS\u2013Fondazione Bietti, Via Livenza 1, 00198 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Medicine and Health Sciences \u201cVincenzo Tiberio\u201d, University of Molise, Via Francesco De Sanctis 1, 86100 Campobasso, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Carmen","family":"Dell\u2019Aquila","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IRCCS\u2013Fondazione Bietti, Via Livenza 1, 00198 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9074-3964","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mattia","family":"D\u2019Andrea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sense Organs, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Carolina","family":"Gabri Nicoletti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Policlinico Tor Vergata, Viale Oxford 81, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3309-8417","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Doriana","family":"Landi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Policlinico Tor Vergata, Viale Oxford 81, 00133 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Giorgia","family":"Mataluni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Policlinico Tor Vergata, Viale Oxford 81, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Antonio","family":"Di Renzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IRCCS\u2013Fondazione Bietti, Via Livenza 1, 00198 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6089-4670","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fabio","family":"Buttari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Unit of Neurology, IRCCS\u2013Neuromed, Via Atinense 18, 86077 Pozzilli, IS, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7663-8874","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto","family":"dell\u2019Omo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Health Sciences \u201cVincenzo Tiberio\u201d, University of Molise, Via Francesco De Sanctis 1, 86100 Campobasso, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Girolama Alessandra","family":"Marfia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Policlinico Tor Vergata, Viale Oxford 81, 00133 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Diego","family":"Centonze","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Policlinico Tor Vergata, Viale Oxford 81, 00133 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Unit of Neurology, IRCCS\u2013Neuromed, Via Atinense 18, 86077 Pozzilli, IS, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Vincenzo","family":"Parisi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IRCCS\u2013Fondazione Bietti, Via Livenza 1, 00198 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"62","DOI":"10.1111\/ceo.12751","article-title":"Afferent visual pathways in multiple sclerosis: A review","volume":"45","author":"Graham","year":"2017","journal-title":"Clin. 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