title: Association between risk factors and glaucomatous damage in untreated primary open-angle glaucoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze an association between the presumed risk factors for glaucoma and the actual extent of glaucomatous damage in untreated primary open-angle glaucoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 50 untreated open-angle glaucoma patients, we analyzed an association between the level of glaucomatous damage and presumed glaucoma risk factors: mean untreated intraocular pressure (IOP) and short-term IOP variability, ocular pulse amplitude, corneal thickness, acral and corneal temperature, retinal arterial diameter and retinal venous diameter, choroidal blood flow (laser Doppler flowmetry flow, velocity, volume), heart rate, and ocular perfusion pressure. Morphologic damage (mean retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, measured by ocular coherence tomography) and functional damage (visual field mean defect) were evaluated separately in 2 forward-stepwise multiple regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean retinal nerve fiber layer thickness was significantly (P<0.05) associated with IOP (r=-0.35), retinal arterial diameter (r=0.36), and choroidal blood flow (r=0.30); mean defect was associated with ocular perfusion pressure (r=-0.30), laser Doppler flowmetry volume (r=-0.33), and IOP variability (0.36).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite small differences between the morphologic and functional glaucomatous damage, IOP and perfusion parameters seem to contribute, at least in part, independently to both.
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Department, University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. gugletak@uhbs.ch
authors.forename: Konstantin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gugleta
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Polunina
authors.forename: Asan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kochkorov
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Waldmann
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Portmann
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Katamay
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Flammer
authors.forename: Selim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Orgul
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000473:pathology*; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*