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Published on: April 3, 2016
Lamina cribrosa thickness correlated with posterior scleral thickness and axial length in monkeys
Jost B Jonas1, Jan N Kutscher1, Songhomitra Panda-Jonas1
1Department of Ophthalmology, Medical Faculty Mannheim of the Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Purpose:
To explore associations of lamina cribrosa thickness with axial length and thickness of the posterior sclera in monkeys.
Methods:
Examining histological sections by light microscopy, we measured the thickness of the lamina cribrosa and posterior sclera and axial length.
Results:
The study included 28 animals (28 eyes) with a mean age of 13.3 ± 4.9 years (range: 3-24 years) and mean axial length of 18.9 ± 1.4 mm (range: 17-21 mm) (22 eyes after experimental temporary central retinal artery occlusion; four eyes after a permanent occlusion of the posterior ciliary artery; and two eyes without any intervention). Mean thickness of the lamina cribrosa was 167 ± 30 μm (range: 115-273 μm). Thinner lamina cribrosa thickness was significantly associated with longer axial length (standardized correlation coefficient beta: -0.42; p = 0.026), with thinner sclera at the posterior pole (beta: 0.56; p = 0.002) and with thinner sclera at the disc border (beta: 0.55; p = 0.002). Lamina cribrosa thickness was not significantly related to temporary central retinal artery occlusion (p = 0.14) or to permanent posterior ciliary artery occlusion (p = 0.49) or age (p = 0.46).
Conclusions:
As in humans, lamina cribrosa thickness in non-glaucomatous monkeys got thinner with longer axial length and with thinner posterior sclera. These data may be of interest for studies on the process of emmetropization/myopization in monkeys, and they may be of interest for the studies on the biomechanics of the optic nerve head.
