[Ocular pulse amplitude in patients with open-angle glaucoma, normal-tension glaucoma, and ocular hypertensionby...

The aim of this study was to compare the ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) in patients with different types of glaucoma, and also to evaluate the usefulness of OPA for the elucidation of normal-tension glaucoma (NTG). OPA is thought to reflect choroidal circulation.

Sixty-six patients with normal-tension glaucoma (NTG), 52 patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), 42 with ocular hypertension (OH) and 68 normal controls (NC) were enrolled in this study.

OPA was measured in all participants by dynamic observing tonometry(DOT). The correlation between OPA and the following parameters [IOP, refraction error (Ref), blood pressure, pulse pressure (PP), MD of Humphrey field analyzer 30-2, type of groups] was analyzed by linear and multiple regression analysis (MRA). Multiple logistic regression analysis (MLR) was used to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for evaluation of the association between OPA (including other factors) and the proportion of NTG.

In MRA, IOP, Ref (< -3 D), PP and type of groups were significantly associated with OPA. The OPA in NTG was significantly lower than NC (p < 0.05). MLR demonstrated that OPA [OR 0.26 (95% CI, 0.12-0.57), p = 0.001] was associated with increased risk of having NTG.

Lower OPA in patients with NTG suggests that there is insufficiency of ocular circulation in NTG. Evaluation of OPA may be useful for the elucidation of the pathogenesis of glaucoma.