AIMS To assess the prevalence and cumulative incidence of open angle glaucoma (OAG) in a cohort group of siblings of OAG probands. METHODS Between 1994 and 2003, a group of siblings of OAG probands underwent both initial and follow up standardised ophthalmic examinations. Siblings were classified as "definite glaucoma" (primary OAG (POAG) and normal tension glaucoma (NTG)), "glaucoma suspects...

BACKGROUND Vascular insufficiency has been reported to be a cause of normal tension glaucoma (NTG). The aim of this study was to compare ocular perfusion pressure (OPP) and ophthalmic artery flow (OAF) between patients with NTG and those without glaucoma. METHODS We considered one eye each from 31 NTG and 15 non-glaucoma control patients. Blood pressure and intraocular pressure (IOP) were mea...

AIM To investigate plasma indices of vascular permeability (vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF-also an index of angiogenesis, as well as the soluble receptor for VEGF, sFlt-1) and endothelial damage/dysfunction (von Willebrand factor, vWf) in glaucoma. METHODS Citrated plasma was assayed for VEGF, sFlt-1, and vWf (all ELISA) in a cross sectional study of 50 patients (20 male; mean age 6...

To investigate the association between retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and blood pressure (BP) in subjects with systemic hypertension. Subjects with systemic hypertension on anti-hypertensive medications were screened by fundus photography and referred for glaucoma work-up if there was enlarged vertical cup-to-disc (VCDR) ratio ≥0.6, VCDR asymmetry ≥0.2, or optic disc hemorrhage. Wor...

Purpose. We evaluated the association between optic nerve head (ONH) microcirculation and macular ganglion cell complex (mGCC) thickness in patients with untreated normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and a hemifield defect. Methods. The medical records of 47 patients with untreated NTG were retrospectively reviewed. Laser speckle flowgraphy was used to obtain mean blur rate (MBR), a relative measure ...

Since its original description by von Graefe in 1857, normal tension glaucoma (NTG) has remained a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for ophthalmologists. NTG is a clinical condition associated with a pathologically excavated optic disc and characteristic glaucomatous visual field loss. Apart from the intraocular pressure (IOP) being in the statistically ‘normal’ range, the clinical course o...

PURPOSE To evaluate the association of myocilin (MYOC), optineurin (OPTN), and apolipoprotein E (APOE) genes and their interactions in primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). METHODS A cohort of 400 unrelated POAG patients (294 high tension glaucoma, HTG, and 106 normal tension glaucoma, NTG) and 281 unrelated control subjects were recruited. All coding exons and splicing junctions in MYOC and OP...

PURPOSE To determine the distribution of WD repeat domain 36 (WDR36) sequence variants in Chinese patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). METHODS One hundred and thirty-five unrelated POAG patients (82 high tension glaucoma [HTG], 42 normal tension glaucoma [NTG], and 11 juvenile-onset POAG [JOAG] patients) and 77 unrelated controls were recruited. All 23 coding exons and splicing j...

BACKGROUND/AIM Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and normal tension glaucoma (NTG) demonstrate the same structural changes in the optic disc along with visual field defects but only POAG includes an abnormal elevation of intraocular pressure. Heidelberg retina tomograph based on confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (HRT) and Moorfields regression analysis (MRA) have been employed to quantita...

PURPOSE Recently, the absence of spontaneous venous pulsation (SVP) has been suggested as a vascular risk factor for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). As the mechanism behind this phenomenon is still unknown, the authors have studied this vascular component using colour Doppler imaging (CDI). METHODS A total of 236 patients were divided into three diagnostic groups: healthy controls (81), P...