[State of extracranial segments of the carotid arteries and primary open-angle glaucoma]

Examinations of 203 patients (100 ones with occlusion abnormalities of the extracranial segments of the carotid arteries and 103 with primary open-angle glaucoma) by means of ophthalmologic and dopplerographic techniques have revealed no relationship between occlusion abnormalities of the carotid arteries and glaucoma development. This fact is explained by collateral circulation development via the orbital anastomosis and anterior connective artery that provide ocular circulation compensation in occlusion of the internal carotid artery. Noteworthy that the incidence of occlusion involvement of the carotid arteries in glaucoma (8.7 percent of cases) corresponds to the incidence of this abnormality in a random sample of an age-matched population. These results suggest an independent mechanism of circulation autoregulation in the eye and optic nerve.