APSified Peripapillary Vessel Density in Glaucoma Suspects and Open-Angle Glaucoma

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Glaucoma Research

Background:

• Vascular dysregulation is implicated in glaucoma pathogenesis.
• Optical coherence tomography-angiography (OCT-A) offers non-invasive visualization of the capillary system.
• Evaluating peripapillary vessel density (VD) is crucial for understanding glaucoma.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess APSified-BMO-based peripapillary vessel density (VD) in ocular hypertension (OHT) and open-angle glaucoma (OAG) patients versus healthy controls.
• To investigate the utility of OCT-A in differentiating glaucoma stages.
• To correlate peripapillary VD with glaucoma severity and progression.

Main Methods:

• Included 180 eyes from 115 patients (OHT, pre-perimetric OAG, primary OAG, secondary OAG, healthy controls).
• Utilized OCT-A to visualize and quantify APSified-BMO-based peripapillary VD using the Erlangen Angio Tool.
• Performed measurements of RNFL, INL, RGC layer, and BMO-MRW.

Main Results:

• Mean peripapillary VD showed a significant correlation with age.
• OAG patients exhibited significantly lower peripapillary VD compared to healthy eyes and OHT patients, after accounting for age.
• Significant differences in VD were found between controls and POAG/SOAG, and between OHT and POAG patients.

Conclusions:

• Peripapillary vessel density is significantly decreased in glaucoma patients compared to controls.
• OCT-A-derived peripapillary VD may serve as a valuable biomarker for monitoring glaucoma progression.
• Further research can explore the role of VD in early glaucoma detection and management.