J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2008 May;49(5):784-790. 10.3341/jkos.2008.49.5.784.

Correlation Between Disc Size and Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness in Normal Tension Glaucoma

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Ophthalmology, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 2Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Inje University, Sanggye Paik Hospital, Seoul, Korea. joohlee@sanggyepaik.ac.kr

Abstract

PURPOSE: To investigate the correlation between optic disc size and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in healthy subjects and patients with normal tension glaucoma (NTG).
METHODS
Optical coherence tomography was performed on 50 eyes of 50 healthy subjects and on 50 eyes of 50 NTG patients.
RESULTS
The optic disc size showed a significant correlation with the RNFL thickness in healthy subjects and in patients with NTG. Significant correlations were observed between the optic disc size and the ratio of superior-to-total RNFL thickness (r=-0.283, p=0.049) and the ratio of nasal to total RNFL thickness (r=0.403, p=0.004) in healthy subjects. In patients with NTG, significant correlations were observed between the optic disc size and the ratio of superior to total RNFL thickness (r=-0.314, p=0.029) and the ratio of inferior to total RNFL thickness (r=-0.302, p=0.034).
CONCLUSIONS
RNFL thickness increased significantly with an increase in optic disc size in both healthy subjects and NTG patients. The correlation between optic disc size and the ratios of each quadrant to the total RNFL thickness showed a different pattern between healthy subjects and NTG patients.

Keyword

Normal tension glaucoma; Optic disc size; Optical coherence tomography; Retinal nerve fiber

MeSH Terms

Eye
Humans
Low Tension Glaucoma
Nerve Fibers
Retinaldehyde
Tomography, Optical Coherence
Retinaldehyde

Figure

  • Figure 1. Scatter plot of correlation between optic nerve head area and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in normal eyes (R=0.425, P=0.001).

  • Figure 2. Scatter plot of correlation between optic nerve head area and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in normal tension glaucoma eyes (R=0.451, P=0.001).


Reference

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