Purpose: to assess the effect of autologous mesenchymal stem cell transplantation (AuMSCT) on optical coherence tomography indicators in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Material and methods. The main group included 50 eyes of 25 patients with RRMS who underwent AuMSCT. The comparison group consisted of 68 eyes of 34 patients with RRMS who did not receive drugs that modify the course of the disease. For OCT, the diagnostic system Stratus OCT 3000 (Carl Zeiss Meditec) was used. To determine the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), the protocol for examining the optic nerve head Fast RNFL Thickness was used, to determine the integrity of the retinal ganglion cells (RGC) in the central zone, the protocol for examining the macular zone Fast Macula, an indicator of total macular volume (TMV) was used.

Results. After 6 and 12 months, the number of eyes in which the average thickness of RNFL increased compared to that before AuMSCT in the main group was significantly higher when compared with the comparison group. 2 years after AuMSCT, this difference leveled off. After 3 years, the RNFL thickness indicator again significantly differed in the studied groups. This suggests a neuroprotective effect of AuMSCT on RGC axons in patients with MS. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in the number of eyes with a change in TMV after 6 months, 1, 2 and 3 years.

Conclusion: the index of the thickness of the peripapillary RNFL can be recommended as a biological marker of the therapeutic effect of AuMSCT at the level of an individual patient.

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