Azusa Nagai-Kusuhara

Association of retinal nerve fibre layer thickness measured by confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy and optical coherence tomography with disc size and axial length

Aims: To investigate the influence of age, disc size and axial length on the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness measurements of Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Methods: A total of 162 eyes of 162 Japanese normal subjects aged between 20 and 83 were enrolled in this study. The disc area and mean RNFL thickness were measured with HRT. The disc area was also measured using the fast optic nerve scan protocol, and the average RNFL thickness was measured using the fast RNFL thickness scan mode with Stratus OCT. The correlations of age, disc area and axial length with RNFL thickness measured with HRT and OCT were analysed. The associations between axial length and disc area measured with HRT and OCT were also calculated. Results: RNFL thickness measured with the two instruments decreased with age. There was a significantly negative correlation between the mean RNFL thickness and disc area measured with HRT. The RNFL thickness measured with OCT correlated positively with the disc area measured with OCT, but not with the disc area measured with HRT. Both RNFL thickness and disc area measured with OCT were inversely correlated with axial length, whereas the two parameters measured with HRT had no association with axial length. Conclusion: In addition to the effect of ageing, the disc size affected the RNFL thickness measured with HRT, whereas the axial length influenced the RNFL thickness and disc area measured with OCT. These variables must be taken into consideration when measuring eyes with the lower or upper boundary of the normal range.

Regional Relationship Between Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness and Corresponding Visual Field Sensitivity in Glaucomatous Eyes

OBJECTIVE To establish the structure-function relationship between peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and visual field (VF) test points in standard automated perimetry. METHODS We included 213 eyes with open-angle glaucoma and VF loss in this cross-sectional study. Correlations between individual VF sensitivity at 52 test points and peripapillary RNFL thickness divided into 16 sectors were calculated. The RNFL thickness was measured by Stratus optical coherence tomography. A new VF cluster map corresponding to RNFL sectors was generated by grouping the VF test points with the highest relation to each RNFL sector. RESULTS The VF sensitivity at each test point was significantly correlated with the sectoral RNFL thickness. The highest coefficient of determination (R(2)) for a superotemporal RNFL sector and VF sensitivity at an inferotemporal test point (9 degrees temporal and 15 degrees inferior from the center) in standard automated perimetry was 0.500 (P < .001). Clustered VF test points most highly related to the RNFL sectors were asymmetrically located between the upper and lower hemifields. A newly developed map revealed significant structure-function relationships. CONCLUSIONS We describe an association between VF sensitivity at test points and sectoral RNFL thickness. Nine clustered VF test points corresponding to 9 RNFL regions were demonstrated from the structure-function relationships.

Evaluation of optic nerve head configuration in various types of optic neuropathy with Heidelberg Retina Tomograph

PurposeTo test whether Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT) is applicable to assess the optic nerve head (ONH) configuration of the atrophic phase of non-glaucomatous optic neuropathy when a default set of the reference plane is used.MethodsTen eyes with non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION), 17 eyes with Lebers hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), 40 eyes with compressive optic neuropathy (CON) owing to chiasmal tumour, and 241 eyes of control individuals were examined with HRT using the default reference plane. The global values of HRT parameters were evaluated among the groups of patients and controls. The sectoral measurements of the eyes with LHON and CON were compared with controls. To eliminate the influence of disc size and age on HRT measurements, eyes with disc area- and age-matched normal controls were used for comparison with eyes with NAION and LHON.ResultsCup parameters in eyes with NAION were similar to those in controls. The retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness was significantly thinner in eyes with NAION than that of controls. The eyes with LHON had significantly larger cup parameters, smaller rim volume, and thinner mean RNFL thickness than controls. Eyes with CON had significantly larger rim area and smaller cup parameters but similar RNFL thickness compared with controls.ConclusionsWhen the default reference plane is used, HRT can measure the ONH configuration in eyes with NAION and LHON as expected. However, caution must be made to interpret the parameters obtained from the eyes with CON.

Disagreement between Heidelberg Retina Tomograph and optical coherence tomography in assessing optic nerve head configuration of eyes with band atrophy and normal eyes

Background/aims: To evaluate to what extent the optic nerve head (ONH) parameters as measured with Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT) differed from those measured with optical coherence tomography (OCT) in eyes with compressive optic neuropathy (CON) that had band atrophy (BA) of the optic disc. Methods: A total of 30 eyes from 19 patients with BA due to chiasmal tumour and 162 eyes from 162 normal subjects were examined with HRT and Stratus OCT using the fast optic nerve scan protocol. Parameters measured by the two devices, including the disc area, cup/disc (C/D) area ratio, cup area, cup volume, rim area and rim volume, were compared between the eyes of BA patients and controls. Bland–Altman plots were used to evaluate agreement for each parameter between OCT and HRT in both groups of eyes. Intermethod discrepancy of the measurements for each parameter was compared between the two groups of eyes. Results: Eyes with BA had smaller cup and larger rim parameters than control eyes when measured with HRT, whereas they had significantly larger cup and significantly smaller rim parameters than control eyes when measured with OCT. HRT measurements tended to be consistently lower in the C/D area ratio and cup area and higher in the rim area and rim volume than OCT measurements for both control eyes and eyes with BA. The intermethod discrepancy for all the parameters except the disc area was significantly larger in eyes with BA than in control eyes. Conclusion: The increased optic disc excavation was detected with OCT but not with HRT in CON eyes with BA of the optic disc. Thus, the distinct algorithms used by these two modalities affected the measurements of ONH parameters, particularly when assessing optic discs with temporal rim thinning.

Nipradilol protects rat retinal ganglion cells from apoptosis induced by serum deprivation in vitro and by diabetes in vivo.

Purpose: To investigate if nipradilol has an anti-apoptotic effect in serum-deprived RGC-5 cells and in the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat retina. Methods: Apoptosis was quantified by activated caspase-3 immunohistochemistry or terminal dUTP nick end-labeling assay. Results: Nipradilol dose-dependently suppressed apoptosis in a protein kinase A- and G-dependent manner and counteracted glutamate-induced calcium entry in the RGC-5 cells and reduced apoptotic cells in the retinal ganglion cell layer of 4- and 12-week diabetic retinas compared to controls when instilled for 5 days. Removal of the nitric oxide moiety from nipradilol blocked these effects. Conclusions: Nipradilol protects RGCs from apoptosis induced by serum-deprivation in vitro and by diabetes in vivo. The NO-related signaling pathway mediates the anti-apoptotic ability of nipradilol.

Macular thickness reduction in eyes with unilateral optic atrophy detected with optical coherence tomography

AimsTo assess the changes in macular and peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness in eyes with unilateral optic atrophy and to evaluate the relationship between retinal thickness and visual function.MethodsEnrolled were 22 patients with unilateral optic atrophy. Macular thickness at the divided nine areas and peripapillary RNFL thickness in quadrantic sections were measured by optical coherence tomography. Thickness values in the affected eyes were compared with those in the contralateral unaffected eyes. The correlation of foveal thickness with best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was evaluated. The correlation between retinal thickness and the remaining visual field area circumscribed with I-4-e isopter in superior and inferior hemifield was assessed.ResultsMacular thinning was observed in all areas (P<0.001 in each area) other than the fovea (P=0.068). Peripapillary RNFL thickness decreased in all quadrantic sections (P<0.001 in each section). The affected to unaffected eye ratio of retinal thickness was more than 0.6 in each area. BCVA did not correlate with foveal thickness (correlation coefficient=0.094, P=0.668). Although not statistically significant (P=0.281, superior hemifield; P=0.053, inferior hemifield), there was a tendency that eyes with severe visual field loss show more marked retinal thinning.ConclusionsMacular thinning with the preserved foveal thickness is a hallmark of eyes with optic atrophy. Together with no correlation between foveal thickness and BCVA, this finding would help in differential diagnosis of macular and optic nerve diseases.

Filtering Bleb Structure Associated with Long-Term Intraocular Pressure Control after Amniotic Membrane-Assisted Trabeculectomy

Purpose/Aim: To determine whether amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) at trabeculectomy affects intrableb structures and which intrableb parameters are significantly correlated with the long-term intraocular pressure (IOP) control. Materials and Methods: Enrolled were 64 eyes of 56 glaucoma patients who underwent trabeculectomy without (36 eyes) or with (28 eyes) AMT. Bleb structure was evaluated by ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) at least one year after surgery. IOP control was defined as good when the eyes had a more than 30% decrease in the preoperative IOP and an IOP value <18 mmHg if the preoperative IOP was higher than 21 mmHg. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors significantly associated with IOP control. Results: Intervals between surgery and the timing of the UBM examinations (median; 2.5 years) and the overall frequency of good IOP control (28/36 in the eyes without AMT and 17/28 in those with AMT; chi-square test, P = 0.2276) were similar in the two groups. The eyes with AMT had a significantly lower number of type H (high reflective) or L (low reflective) blebs and a higher number of type E (encapsulated) blebs compared to those without AMT (P < 0.0001). Among independent variables, which included age, sex, glaucoma type, lens status, the number of ocular hypotensives, and previous intraocular surgeries, only type F (flattened) bleb in eyes without AMT (P = 0.0008, odds ratio [OR] = 0.0256) and no or limited intrableb fluid-filled space in eyes with AMT were significantly associated with poor IOP control (P = 0.0026, OR = 0.0111, and 0.0071, 0.0167, respectively). Conclusions: Intrableb structures after trabeculectomy alone versus AMT-assisted trabeculectomy were distinct. The bleb wall reflectivity in the former and the extent of the subconjunctival fluid-filled space in the latter were factors associated with long-term IOP control.

Association of optic disc configuration and clustered visual field sensitivity in glaucomatous eyes with hemifield visual field defects.

PurposeTo compare the morphologic alterations between upper and lower sectors of the optic nerve head (ONH) in eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) that have hemifield visual field defects and to evaluate the correlation between this sectoral ONH damage and visual field sensitivity loss within the corresponding clustered test points of standard automated perimetry. MethodsVisual field testing with Humphrey Field Analyzer and imaging with Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT) were performed in 87 eyes from 87 Japanese patients with POAG and 150 eyes from 150 normal subjects. Global and segmental HRT topographic parameters were compared among POAG patients with superior hemifield defects, those with inferior hemifield defects, and controls. The correlation between the sectoral HRT measurements and the sum of total deviation values in the corresponding clustered visual field test points was analyzed in the 2 POAG groups. ResultsThe HRT measurements in both POAG groups were significantly different from those of controls, not only in the sectors corresponding to abnormal hemifield, but also in the sectors corresponding to the normal visual hemifield. There was a linear correlation between the sectoral HRT parameters and clustered visual field sensitivities in the affected hemifield areas. ConclusionsThe present study indirectly supports the notion that the relationship between structural and functional damage of glaucomatous optic neuropathy is not linear when evaluated with the currently available techniques and instruments.

Comparison of mean deviation with AGIS and CIGTS scores in association with structural parameters in glaucomatous eyes.

ObjectiveTo evaluate which of the 3 clinically used visual field indices including mean deviation (MD), Advanced Glaucoma Intervention Study (AGIS) score, and Collaborative Initial Glaucoma Treatment Study (CIGTS) score are best in evaluating functional damage of glaucomatous optic neuropathy. MethodsIn 213 glaucomatous eyes, peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) and optic disc configuration were measured with Stratus optical coherence tomography and Heidelberg Retina Tomograph-2, respectively. Visual field was measured with standard automated perimetry 30-2. Correlations of the structural parameters compared with the 3 VF indices using second polynomial regression were calculated. In addition, these correlations were analyzed among eyes of 3 different stages of glaucoma, as defined by MD score (early, MD≥−6 dB; moderate, −12 dB≤MD<−6 dB; advanced, MD<−12 dB). ResultsAmong structure-function relationships in all subjects, the highest correlation determination (R2) was MD with RNFLT (=0.298). CIGTS score showed better R2 than MD or AGIS score with rim area, but these values were not higher than any R2 with RNFLT. In analyses of 3 groups depending on MD, statistically significant structure-function correlations were observed only in patients with an advanced stage. ConclusionsNo clear difference was found among MD and AGIS/CIGTS scores in expressing functional damage of glaucomatous eyes. MD is suggested to be no worse than others in monitoring glaucoma in clinical setting.

Serous Macular Detachment Due to Diabetic Papillopathy Detected Using Optical Coherence Tomography

Diabetic papillopathy (DP) is a syndrome characterized by self-limited unilateral or bilateral optic disc swellingassociatedwithminimalornopermanent loss of visual function. Diabetic papillopathy may occur in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) and type 2 DM, with approximately a 0.5% incidence irrespective of metabolic control and severity of diabetic retinopathy. Reportedly, DP often (in approximately 70% of cases) accompanies macular edema, which is a major cause of vision loss in patients with DPevenwithout retinal capillary leakage and is presumed to be an extension of disc edema in some cases of DP. However, its precise features have not been fully investigated. This study analyzes the macular lesions in 3 patients with DP using optical coherence tomography (OCT) (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc, Dublin, California).