Impaired saccadic eye movement in primary open-angle glaucoma.
OBJECTIVE
Our study aimed at investigating the extent to which saccadic eye movements are disrupted in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). This approach followed upon the discovery of differences in the eye-movement behavior of POAG patients during the exploration of complex visual scenes.


METHODS
The eye movements of 8 POAG patients and 4 healthy age-matched controls were recorded. Four of the patients had documented visual field scotoma, and 4 had no identifiable scotoma on visual field testing. The eye movements were monitored as the observers watched static and kinetic targets. The gain, latency, and velocity-peak latency of the saccades recorded were then analyzed.


RESULTS
In POAG patients, with abnormal visual fields, watching a static target, the saccades were delayed and their accuracy was reduced, compared with those of normal observers. In POAG patients, with normal and abnormal visual fields, watching a kinetic target, a task involving precise motion analysis, the latency and accuracy of the saccades were impaired, compared with those of normal observers.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that POAG alters saccade programming and execution particularly in the case of moving targets.
*Ophthalmology Department, Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild †Ophthalmology Department, Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard ‡CRICM, Cogimage, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, UMR 7225, CNRS, INSERM, Paris §Ophthalmology Department, Angers University Hospital, Angers, France ∥Glostrup University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Cédric
C
Lamirel
Dan
D
Milea
Isabelle
I
Cochereau
Minh-Hanh
MH
Duong
Jean
J
Lorenceau
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D053483:Eye Movement Measurements; D005260:Female; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015835:Ocular Motility Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D012607:Scotoma / Q000503:physiopathology; D058609:Visual Field Tests; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology