Topographic differences in the age-related changes in the retinal nerve fiber layer of normal eyes measured by Stratus optical coherence tomography.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether there are regional differences in the age-related changes in peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness as measured by time-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT).


METHODS
Fast peripapillary RNFL scans obtained with the Stratus time-domain OCT with nominal diameter of 3.46-mm centered on the optic disc were carried out on 425 normal participants over a wide age range. One eye was randomly selected for scanning or analysis. Average RNFL-, clock hour-, and quadrant-specific rates of RNFL thickness change were calculated and compared.


RESULTS
The 425 study participants ranged in age from 18 to 85 years with mean (±SD) of 46 (±15) years. The mean (±SD) average measured RNFL thickness was 104.7 (±10.8) micrometers (μm). The decline in the average RNFL thickness was 2.4 μm per decade of age. Changes in RNFL thickness per decade of age ranged from -5.4 (P<0.001) at clock hour 1 to -0.9 (P=0.28) at clock hour 6. Similarly, the rate of thickness change per decade of age in the superior quadrant was -4.3 (P<0.001) versus -1.5 (P=0.006) in the inferior quadrant. The slopes of thinning superiorly and inferiorly were highly significantly different (P=0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The age-related decline in normal RNFL measurements does not occur at equal rates around the disc and occurs mainly superiorly.
Feuer
William J
WJ
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, 900 NW 17th Street, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
Budenz
Donald L
DL
Anderson
Douglas R
DR
Cantor
Louis
L
Greenfield
David S
DS
Savell
Jonathan
J
Schuman
Joel S
JS
Varma
Rohit
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000502:physiology*; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000166:cytology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D019371:Topography, Medical; D055815:Young Adult