[Triplex scanning of orbital vessels in patients with normal pressure glaucoma]

Bloodflow in the orbital artery and central retinal artery was studied by triplex scanning in 35 patients with normal pressure glaucoma, and 14 subjects without signs of glaucoma. Significant differences in the studied parameters were detected in the patients in comparison with the controls: decreased linear bloodflow velocity in the orbital (p < 0.01) and central retinal arteries (p < 0.01), increased peripheral resistance indexes in both arteries (p < 0.05) in patients with normal pressure glaucoma, and decreased bloodflow velocity in the central retinal artery in primary open-angle glaucoma (p < 0.05). The time course of hemodynamic parameters was different in normal pressure and primary open-angle glaucoma. These data confirm the important role of vascular disorders in the pathogenesis of normal pressure glaucoma.