title: The effect of flammer-syndrome on retinal venous pressure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of the study was to measure the retinal venous pressure (RVP) in the eyes of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients and healthy subjects with and without a Flammer-Syndrome (FS).
  
  
  METHODS
  RVP was measured in the following four groups of patients and age- and sex-matched healthy controls: (a) 15 patients with a POAG and a FS (POAG/FS+); (b) 15 patients with a POAG but without a FS (POAG/FS-); (c) 14 healthy subjects with a FS (healthy/FS+) and (d) 16 healthy subjects without a FS (healthy/FS-). RVP was measured in all participants bilaterally by means of contact lens ophthalmodynamometry. Ophthalmodynamometry is done by applying increasing pressure on the eye via a contact lens. The minimum force required to induce a venous pulsation is called ophthalmodynamometric force (ODF). The RVP is defined and calculated as the sum of ODF and intraocular pressure (IOP) [RVP = ODF + IOP].
  
  
  RESULTS
  The participants with a FS (whether patients with POAG or healthy subjects), had a significantly higher RVP compared to subjects without a FS (p = 0.0103). Patients with a POAG and FS (POAG/FS+) had a significantly higher RVP compared to patients without a FS (POAG/FS-) (p = 0.0301). There was a notable trend for a higher RVP in the healthy/FS + group compared to the healthy/FS - group, which did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.0898).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RVP is higher in subjects with a FS, particularly in glaucoma patients. The causal relationship needs to be further evaluated.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baertschi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Mittlere Strasse 91, 4031 Basel, Switzerland. Maneli.Mozaffarieh@usb.ch.
authors.forename: Maneli
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mozaffarieh
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009884:Ophthalmodynamometry; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012169:Retinal Vein / Q000502:physiology*; D014065:Tonometry, Ocular; D014690:Venous Pressure / Q000502:physiology