Peripapillary and Macular Vessel Density in Patients with Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma and Unilateral Visual Field Loss

Abstract

OCT-A measures detect changes in retinal microvasculature before VF damage is detectable in patients with POAG, and these changes may reflect damage to tissues relevant to the pathophysiology of glaucoma. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether OCT-A measures can improve the detection or prediction of the onset and progression of glaucoma.

Macular vessel density versus ganglion cell complex thickness for detection of early primary open-angle glaucoma

“…Previous studies have reported that the AUROC values for macular VD that ranged from 0.562 to 0.800 for distinguishing between early glaucoma and normal eyes [26,27,30,34]. However, little is known about the diagnostic ability of macular VD in detecting PPG.…”

Quantitative retinal microvasculature in children using swept-source optical coherence tomography: the Hong Kong Children Eye Study

“…Quantitative OCT-A metrics have been shown to associate with retinal vein occlusion,4 glaucoma,5 6 diabetes7–9 and kidney dysfunction, showing a role in identifying microvascular abnormalities. Importantly, these changes in retinal microvasculature can be detected before clinical stage, for example, in patients with diabetes without clinical retinopathy signs,7 8 and in glaucomatous eyes before visual field damage,10 demonstrating that OCT-A is capable to identify preclinical pathological processes involving retinal microvasculature.…”

<p>Peripapillary Vessel Density In Unilateral Preperimetric Glaucoma</p>

“…11,14,24,25 RPC density showed a significant diagnostic ability to differentiate normal from glaucoma eyes, comparable to that of OCT. 13,22,26,27 It has also been reported that peripapillary microvascular changes may precede vision field loss. 11,12,19,[27][28][29][30] The preperimetric stage of glaucoma, defined as nerve fiber damage without detectable defects in standard automated perimetry (SAP), remains a challenging diagnosis which could be facilitated by OCTA. However, it is still under discussion whether the assessment of RPC density could help in preperimetric glaucoma (PPG) detection.…”

“…However, it is still under discussion whether the assessment of RPC density could help in preperimetric glaucoma (PPG) detection. 13,15,20,[26][27][28][29][30][31] The aim of the present study was to investigate the vascular status of the optic disc and peripapillary area in association with the structural changes in patients with unilateral PPG.…”