Evidence mapPaperPMID 41315322Full record

Observational studyScientific reports2025

Quantitative assessment of the corneal subbasal nerve plexus in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 and optic pathway glioma using in vivo confocal microscopy.

Hossein Ghahvehchian, Golshan Latifi, Masoud Aghsaei Fard

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Hossein GhahvehchianEye Research Center, The Five Senses Health Institute, School of Medicine, Moheb Kowsar Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Golshan LatifiFarabi Eye Hospital, Tehran University of Medical sciences, Qazvin Sq, Tehran, 13138, Iran.
Masoud Aghsaei FardFarabi Eye Hospital, Tehran University of Medical sciences, Qazvin Sq, Tehran, 13138, Iran. masood219@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

To quantitatively evaluate corneal subbasal nerve plexus (SNP) in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and optic pathway glioma using in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM), comparing semi-automated and automated image analysis methods. In this prospective observational case series, 13 eyes of 7 children with NF1 and optic pathway glioma and 10 eyes of 6 age-matched healthy controls underwent IVCM imaging. Three high-quality central corneal images per eye were analyzed using NeuronJ (semi-automated) and ACCMetrics (automated) software. Corneal nerve fiber length (CNFL), nerve fiber density (CNFD), branch density, fiber area, fiber width, and fractal dimension were quantified. Group comparisons used t-tests and linear mixed modeling, accounting for inter-eye correlation. Agreement between methods was assessed with Bland-Altman analysis. NF1 eyes showed significantly greater CNFL on NeuronJ (27.13 ± 5.17 vs. 22.70 ± 4.98 mm/mm²; P = 0.042) and higher CNFD on ACCMetrics (27.32 ± 10.64 vs. 20.83 ± 7.98 fibers/mm²; P = 0.038) compared with controls. Other ACCMetrics parameters (CNFL, CNBD, CTBD, CNFA, CNFW, CNFrD) were not significantly different. Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated poor agreement between methods, with ACCMetrics systematically underestimating CNFL relative to NeuronJ (bias = 8.85 mm/mm²; limits of agreement 2.20 to 15.50 mm/mm²) and increasing underestimation at higher CNFL values (r = 0.43, P < 0.001). Children with NF1 and optic pathway glioma exhibit increased corneal nerve fiber length and density, suggesting enhanced nerve proliferation or branching rather than hypertrophy. However, automated ACCMetrics underestimated CNFL relative to semi-automated NeuronJ, emphasizing the need for analytic standardization. Larger, longitudinal studies are required to confirm these findings and explore their potential as noninvasive biomarkers of NF1-associated neuropathy.

Indexed as

CorneaNeurofibromatosis 1Optic Nerve GliomaAdolescentCase-Control StudiesChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansMaleMicroscopy, ConfocalNerve FibersProspective StudiesCorneaIn vivo confocal microscopyNeurofibromatosis type 1Subbasal nerve plexus

Identifiers

PMID41315322
PMCPMC12663113

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.