Comparison of the Circumpapillary Structure-Function and Vasculature-Function Relationships at Different Glaucoma...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Neuroscience
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Glaucoma is a progressive optic neuropathy characterized by visual field loss.
• Understanding the relationship between structural and vascular changes and functional decline is crucial for glaucoma management.
• Longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate disease progression dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate global and regional correlations between longitudinal structure-function (S-F) and vasculature-function (V-F) data in glaucoma.
• To analyze these correlations across different glaucoma stages using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) data.
• To assess the relationship between circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (cpRNFLT), circumpapillary vessel density (cpVD), and visual field (VF) mean sensitivity.

Main Methods:

• 107 eyes from glaucoma patients with progressive VF changes were analyzed.
• Longitudinal changes in VF mean deviation (MD), cpRNFLT, and cpVD were evaluated using linear mixed-effects models.
• Repeated measures correlation analysis was used to assess S-F and V-F relationships by glaucoma stage.

Main Results:

• cpRNFLT decreased more rapidly in early-to-moderate glaucoma.
• Significant longitudinal S-F and V-F correlations were found in early-to-moderate glaucoma (except nasal sector).
• Significant V-F correlations were found in advanced glaucoma, but S-F correlations were absent.

Conclusions:

• Longitudinal V-F relationships are present globally and regionally across all glaucoma stages.
• No longitudinal S-F relationship exists in advanced glaucoma.
• Longitudinal cpVD monitoring may aid in tracking glaucomatous VF progression at all disease stages.