Correlation of retinal nerve-fiber-layer loss, changes at the optic nerve head and various psychophysical criteria in glaucoma

Abstract

In 61 eyes of 61 patients with glaucoma, semiquantitative assessment of retinal nerve-fiber-layer (RNFL) loss and neuroretinal rim measurement of the optic nerve head by means of the Optic Nerve Head Analyzer were correlated to the outcomes of automated light-sense, flicker and resolution perimetry and the Farnsworth-Munsell (FM) 100-Hue test. A significant influence of age on total RNFL and total diffuse RNFL scores was found, but there was no measurable effect of age on neuroretinal rim area. Total RNFL and total diffuse RNFL scores showed a good correlation to the various visual field indices: total RNFL score vs mean flicker frequency as determined by flicker perimetry, r = -0.606, P less than 0.0001; total RNFL score vs mean sensitivity as determined by light-sense perimetry, r = -0.385, P = 0.002; and total RNFL score vs mean ring score as determined by resolution perimetry, r = 0.341, P = 0.007. There was no significant correlation between RNFL scores and the FM 100-Hue score. Correlation between the neuroretinal rim area and the various psychophysical indices was poor and mostly not statistically significant. The high correlation of flicker scores with RNFL loss provides interest for future applications of this perimetric technique.

Correlation between the orbital and intraocular portions of the optic nerve in glaucomatous and ocular hypertensive eyes

“…Twenty volunteers (16 glaucoma subjects, 4 OHT subjects) were recruited into this study. Of these, 13 were male.…”

Retinal nerve fiber layer measurements using laser scanning polarimetry in different stages of glaucomatous optic nerve damage

“…Histological studies have shown, however, that there may be a significant loss of ganglion cells before evidence of functional loss on conventional visual field testing [25]. Previous studies have shown an association between functional properties and structural alteration of the RNFL [22,33,37] and that certain changes in optic nerve disc structure and a localized or diffuse loss of RNFL thickness may precede visual field defects [8,26,29]. To prevent damage, it is important to detect glaucomatous RNFL changes as early as possible in order to find an efficient treatment for glaucoma.…”

The full-field flicker test in glaucomas: influence of intraocular pressure and pattern of visual field losses

“…Psychophysical tests using flickering light stimuli [2,5,6,9,12,14,17,19,20,26,28,34,36,38,39] are suggested to be useful supplements to glaucoma examination and thus to detect glaucoma in an early phase. Determination of temporal resolution is thought to be more sensitive to early glaucomatous damage than conventional light-sense perimetry.…”