Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026
Measuring Deformability and Red Cell Heterogeneity in Blood by Ektacytometry
Published on: January 12, 2018
Erythrocyte deformability measurements in patients with glaucoma
1Faculté de Pharmacle, Université Montpellier I, *Service d'explorations physiologiques, CHU Lapeyronie, daggerService d'Ophtalmologie, CHU Gui de Chauliac, Montpellier, France.
Erythrocyte deformability and aggregability, fibrinogen plasma level, and hematocrit were measured in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and in age-matched control subjects. Only one parameter, red blood cell rigidity, as evaluated by the Hanss filtration technique, was found significantly elevated in glaucoma patients. This erythrocyte abnormality, which corroborates previous data on blood viscosity, could be an important factor in the pathogenesis of optic nerve damage and could support the hypothesis of a primary oxidative stress in glaucoma.
Erythrocyte deformability and aggregability, fibrinogen plasma level, and hematocrit were measured in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and in age-matched control subjects. Only one parameter, red blood cell rigidity, as evaluated by the Hanss filtration technique, was found significantly elevated in glaucoma patients. This erythrocyte abnormality, which corroborates previous data on blood viscosity, could be an important factor in the pathogenesis of optic nerve damage and could support the hypothesis of a primary oxidative stress in glaucoma.
