Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Nov;98(11):1551-4.
doi: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2013-304393. Epub 2014 Jun 25.

Optic nerve head morphology in glaucoma patients of African descent is strongly correlated to retinal blood flow

Priyanka Kanakamedala  1 , Alon Harris  1 , Brent Siesky  1 , Ariel Tyring  1 , Michael Muchnik  1 , George Eckert  2 , Leslie Abrams Tobe  1
Affiliations

Optic nerve head morphology in glaucoma patients of African descent is strongly correlated to retinal blood flow

Priyanka Kanakamedala et al. Br J Ophthalmol. 2014 Nov.

Abstract

Background/aims: To examine the relationship between change in optic nerve head (ONH) morphology and retinal blood flow in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) of African (AD) and European descent (ED) over 3 years.

Methods: 112 patients with OAG (29 AD; 83 ED) underwent assessment of ONH morphology using Heidelberg retinal tomography (HRT-III), and retinal blood flow using confocal scanning laser Doppler. Repeated-measures analysis of covariance was used to compare baseline and 3-year measurements, and Pearson correlations were calculated to evaluate the relationships.

Results: In OAG patients of AD, change in superior mean retinal blood flow was strongly, negatively correlated with change in cup/disc (C/D) area ratio (r=-0.78, p=0.020) and cup area (r=-0.75, p=0.0283) and strongly, positively correlated with change in rim area (r=0.74, p=0.0328) over 3 years. In OAG patients of AD, change in inferior mean retinal blood flow was strongly, negatively correlated with changes in C/D area ratio (r=-0.88, p=0.0156) and linear C/D ratio (r=-0.86, p=0.0265) over 3 years. In OAG patients of ED, these correlations were weak and did not reach statistical significance.

Discussion: OAG patients of AD may have a stronger vascular component to their glaucoma pathophysiology than patients of ED.

Keywords: Glaucoma; Optic Nerve; Retina.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Friedman DS, Wolfs RC, O’Colmain BJ, et al. Prevalence of open-angle glaucoma among adults in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004;122:532–38. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Congdon N, O’Colmain B, Klaver CC, et al. Causes and prevalence of visual impairment among adults in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004;122:477–485. - PubMed
    1. Racette L, Liebmann JM, Girkin CA, et al. African Descent and Glaucoma Evaluation Study (ADAGES): III. Ancestry differences in visual function in healthy eyes. Arch Ophthalmol. 2010;128:551–59. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wilson R, Richardson TM, Hertzmark E, et al. Race as a risk factor for progressive glaucomatous damage. Ann Ophthalmol. 1985;17:653–59. - PubMed
    1. Sommer A, Tielsch JM, Katz J, et al. Racial differences in the cause-specific prevalence of blindness in east Baltimore. N Engl J Med. 1991;325:1412–17. - PubMed

Publication types