title: Anatomic features of the optic disc and risk of progression in ocular hypertension.
abstract: We evaluated characteristics of the optic disc in ocular hypertensive patients which might portend future glaucomatous damage. We included in this study 12 patients with an intraocular pressure > 21 mmHg who on follow-up showed signs of optic nerve head damage. Each of these patients were matched to an ocular hypertensive patient who remained stable for > 5 years. This study found that neither optic disc, neural rim or peripapillary halo areas, vein or artery diameter over non-atrophied or atrophied retinal areas, differed significantly between groups (p > 0.05, Wilcoxon signed rank test). However, peripapillary atrophy was greater in patients who showed signs of glaucomatous disc damage (1.757 +/- 0.36 mm2, p = 0.02, Wilcoxon signed rank test) compared to stable patients (1.064 +/- 0.79 mm2), although this finding was not significant after the Bonferroni correction. Patients with < 0.6 mm2 area of peripapillary atrophy (n = 6), however, did not suffer damage. This study suggests that a relationship between the extent of peripapillary atrophy and the chance of developing optic disc damage in patients with ocular hypertension deserves further study.
mesh_terms: D001284:Atrophy; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009798:Ocular Hypertension / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009896:Optic Atrophy / Q000175:diagnosis; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000473:pathology*; D010781:Photography; D012307:Risk Factors