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[Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and peripapillary blood flow in glaucoma patients and healthy probands]
G B Kuba1, L E Pillunat, A G Böhm
1Medizinisches Zentrum für Augenheilkunde, Klinikum der Philipps-Universität Marburg.
Background:
In progressive glaucoma there is increasing loss of retinal nerve fibers and therefore decreasing nerve fiber layer thickness. As measurements of capillary blood flow have been reported to depend on nerve fiber layer thickness, this could result in incorrectly high blood flow measurements in patients with advanced glaucoma.
Methods:
In 33 healthy controls and 59 glaucoma patients we measured retinal nerve fiber layer thickness by laser polarimetry and relative capillary blood flow by scanning laser doppler flowmetry three times on the nasal and temporal peripapillary retina. For statistical analysis a regression analysis was used.
Results:
The correlation coefficients for volume, velocity, and flow with nerve fiber layer thickness at the same location were 0.02/-0.03/-0.02 in the temporal retina and -0.22/-0.07/-0.19 in the nasal retina (all correlations nonsignificant).
Conclusion:
No correlation was found between nerve fiber layer thickness and capillary blood flow. Measurement of capillary blood flow in glaucoma patients thus does not appear to be affected by decreasing nerve fiber layer thickness.