Structure-function relationship of the macular visual field sensitivity and the ganglion cell complex thickness in glaucoma.
OBJECTIVE
We attempted to understand better the relationship between the macular visual field (VF) mean sensitivity (MS) assessed by standard automated perimetry (SAP) and the ganglion cell complex thickness (GCCT), and macular peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (mpRNFLT) assessed by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT, RTVue-100) in open-angle glaucoma (OAG) patients.


METHODS
We enrolled in the study 217 OAG patients with baseline intraocular pressure (IOP) in the statistically normal range. GCCT and mpRNFLT measurements, using the ganglion cell complex (GCC) and the optic nerve head (ONH) modes of RTVue-100 OCT, were obtained for analysis. Macular VF sensitivity was recorded in the dB and 1/L scales. The relationship of the function (MS) and structure (GCCT, mpRNFLT) was sought globally and in two VF sectors (superior and inferior).


RESULTS
The relationship of the macular VF sensitivity (dB) to the GCC, and mpRNFL global (R(2) = 0.111, 0.127) and sectoral (superior R(2) = 0.358, 0.171; inferior R(2) = 0.227, 0.263) thicknesses were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). The relationship of the macular VF sensitivity to the GCCT differed significantly from that of the macular VF sensitivity to the mpRNFL in the superior VF sector (R(2) = 0.358 vs. 0.171, P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
GCCT determined by SD-OCT (RTVue-100) showed a statistically significant structure-function association with macular VF, and the strength of the association was greater than that of the mpRNFL with macular VF in the superior central VF area.
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, 388-1 Pungnap-2-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, Korea.
Jung Hwa
JH
Na
Michael S
MS
Kook
Youngrok
Y
Lee
Seunghee
S
Baek
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008266:Macula Lutea; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000473:pathology; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology*