Increased Erythrocyte Osmotic Fragility as a Risk Factor for Predicting Glaucoma

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Hematology
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Glaucoma diagnosis often relies on intraocular pressure (IOP), but many patients have normal IOP.
• This suggests other risk factors are crucial for glaucoma development.
• Identifying blood biomarkers can improve glaucoma detection and understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify blood biomarkers associated with glaucoma.
• To develop a predictive model for glaucoma using these biomarkers.
• To investigate the role of red blood cell properties in glaucoma pathogenesis.

Main Methods:

• Analyzed peripheral blood samples from glaucoma patients and healthy controls.
• Utilized automated hematology analysis and Giemsa staining for red blood cell morphology.
• Employed osmotic fragility tests to assess red blood cell membrane stability.
• Constructed a predictive model using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression.

Main Results:

• LASSO regression identified key blood biomarkers differentiating glaucoma patients.
• Red blood cells from glaucoma patients showed increased susceptibility to rupture.
• Erythrocyte osmotic fragility (EOF) was significantly higher in glaucoma patients (P < 0.001).
• A revised predictive model integrating EOF achieved 88.68% accuracy, with 92.59% sensitivity and 84.62% specificity.
• Independent dataset validation showed a high predictive performance (AUC = 0.97).

Conclusions:

• Elevated erythrocyte osmotic fragility (EOF) is a significant risk factor for glaucoma.
• EOF, combined with other blood biomarkers, can aid in glaucoma diagnosis.
• Measurement of EOF shows potential for facilitating clinical glaucoma diagnosis.