Relationship between optic nerve head microcirculation and visual field loss in glaucoma.
OBJECTIVE
To study the relationship between optic nerve head blood flow velocity and visual field loss in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and normal tension glaucoma (NTG).


METHODS
This study included 44 eyes of 44 patients with POAG and 44 eyes of 44 patients with NTG. To evaluate optic nerve head blood flow velocity, the square blur rate (SBR) was measured by means of laser speckle flowgraphy. The correlation between SBR and Humphrey visual field indices was evaluated with linear regression analysis.


RESULTS
In the NTG group, the average SBR at the superior and inferior temporal neuroretinal rim was positively correlated with mean deviation (MD) (r = 0.349, p = 0.020). The SBR at the superior or inferior temporal neuroretinal rim was positively correlated with the sum of the total deviations in the corresponding hemifields (r = 0.299, p = 0.049; r = 0.354, p = 0.019, respectively). The correlations between SBR and MD did not differ statistically between the NTG and POAG groups; however, no significant correlation between SBR and visual field indices was observed in the POAG group.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggested that the change in the circulation of the optic nerve head may be related to visual field damage in the NTG group but may be less involved in visual field damage in the POAG group.
Yaoeda
Kiyoshi
K
Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Niigata University, Niigata City, Japan. arasan@med.niigata-u.ac.jp
Shirakashi
Motohiro
M
Fukushima
Atsushi
A
Funaki
Shigeo
S
Funaki
Haruko
H
Abe
Haruki
H
Tanabe
Naohito
N
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation; D008875:Middle Aged; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000098:blood supply*; D009901:Optic Nerve Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014794:Visual Fields
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents