Close observation of the transition zone from relatively healthy to severely affected regions in glaucoma patients may offer a scientific method for assessing progression, according to a poster presentation at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting.
The study authors used frequency-domain optical coherence tomography (3D OCT-2000, TopCon) to better understand the structural changes in the transition zone of 42 eyes of 35 subjects. The study group had 26 eyes of 19 glaucoma patients (mean age: 62.5 ± 12 years), and the control group had 16 eyes of 16 subjects (mean age: 55.8 ± 10.7 years).
The authors noted there was a clear transition zone between severely affected and healthy regions of glaucomatous field defects in the macula and that the zone could not clearly be measure by perimetry.
Use of frequency-domain OCT, however, may provide a measurable means to study the progression of glaucoma within the eye.
- Disclosure: The study authors received support from TopCon.