Objective: The purpose of the study was to compare retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) thickness in patients with psoriasis and vitiligo.
Materials and methods: The right eyes of 67 psoriasis and 65 vitiligo patients and 71 healthy individuals were included in the study. The RPE thicknesses were analyzed with the spectral domain-optical coherence tomography after routine ophthalmological examinations (SD-OCT).
Results: No statistically significant differences were detected when psoriasis and vitiligo patients were compared in terms of RPE levels (p = 0.033). When compared with the Control Group, no significant differences were found with psoriasis patients, but a significant difference was detected with vitiligo patients (p = 0.515, p = 0.001, respectively).
Conclusion: Although no changes were detected in RPE in psoriasis, the decreased RPE thickness in vitiligo may be an indicator of the effect of melanin loss on the posterior segment of the eye in vitiligo. For this reason, measurement of RPE thickness with OCT can help in detecting the damage in vitiligo patients.
Keywords: optical coherence tomography; psoriasis; retinal pigment epithelium; vitiligo.
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