April 2010
Volume 51, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   April 2010
Effect of Age and Race on Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) Thickness and Birefringence in Healthy Eyes in the African Descent and Glaucoma Evaluation Study (ADAGES)
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • B. Nguyen
    Ophthalmology,
    Univ of California-San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • G. Vizzeri
    Ophthalmology,
    Univ of California-San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • P. A. Sample
    Hamilton Glaucoma Center,
    Univ of California-San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • R. N. Weinreb
    Hamilton Glaucoma Center,
    Univ of California-San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • P. Sassani
    Ophthalmology,
    Univ of California-San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • F. A. Medeiros
    Ophthalmology,
    Univ of California-San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • C. A. Girkin
    Ophthalmology, Univ of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
  • J. M. Liebmann
    Ophthalmology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York
  • L. M. Zangwill
    Ophthalmology,
    Univ of California-San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships  B. Nguyen, None; G. Vizzeri, None; P.A. Sample, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., F; Haag-Streit, F; Welch-Allyn, F; R.N. Weinreb, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., F; Heidelberg Engineering, GmbH, F; Novartis, F; Optovue, Inc., F; Topcon Medical Systems, Inc., F; Alcon Laboratories, Inc., C; Allergan, Inc., C; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., C; Glaxo, C; Optovue, Inc., C; Pfizer, Inc., C; Topcon Medical Systems, Inc., C; P. Sassani, None; F.A. Medeiros, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., F; Pfizer, Inc., F; Alcon Laboratories, Inc., C; Alcon Laboratories, Inc., F; Allergan, Inc., C; Pfizer, Inc., C; Alcon Laboratories, Inc., R; Allergan, Inc., R; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., R; Pfizer, Inc., R; Reicherts, Inc., R; C.A. Girkin, Alcon Laboratories, Inc., C; Allergan, Inc., C; Pfizer, Inc., C; Heidelberg Engineering, GmbH, R; Optive, Inc., R; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., R; Merck, Inc., R; J.M. Liebmann, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., F; Diopsys, Inc., F; Optovue, Inc., F; Topcon Medical Systems, Inc., F; Alcon Laboratories, Inc., C; Allergan, Inc., C; Diopsys, Inc., C; Optovue, Inc., C; Pfizer, Inc., C; Topcon Medical Systems, Inc., C; L.M. Zangwill, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., F; Heidelberg Engineering, GmbH, F; Optovue, Inc., F; Topcon Medical Systems, Inc., F.
  • Footnotes
    Support  NEI EY08208(PAS, CAG, JL), NEI EY11008(LMZ), NEI EY14267(PAS), EY13959(CAG), Eyesight Foundation of Alabama(CAG), Grants for participant’s glaucoma medications(Alcon, Allergan, Pfizer, Merck, SANTEN)
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science April 2010, Vol.51, 2729. doi:
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    • Get Citation

      B. Nguyen, G. Vizzeri, P. A. Sample, R. N. Weinreb, P. Sassani, F. A. Medeiros, C. A. Girkin, J. M. Liebmann, L. M. Zangwill; Effect of Age and Race on Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) Thickness and Birefringence in Healthy Eyes in the African Descent and Glaucoma Evaluation Study (ADAGES). Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2010;51(13):2729.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Purpose: : To evaluate the effect of age and race on retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and birefringence in healthy eyes.

Methods: : 603 healthy eyes of 577 subjects (mean age: 46.8±14.8 years, range: 18-90), 303 of European descent (ED) and 300 of African descent (AD) enrolled in the Diagnostic Innovations in Glaucoma Study (DIGS) and the African Descent and Glaucoma Evaluation Study (ADAGES). Scanning laser polarimetry (SLP, GDx VCC) and time domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) RNFL thickness measurements taken at baseline were used to calculate average and sectoral RNFL birefringence based on the following equation:RNFL Birefringence=RNFL retardance (nm): (SLP RNFL thickness*0.67)/RNFL thickness (um).

Results: : In these healthy eyes, although differences were small (< 3 um), OCT average RNFL thickness was significantly (p<.001) greater in AD than ED eyes, while GDx TSNIT average was lower in AD than ED eyes. Average birefringence was significantly lower in AD eyes than in ED eyes (0.34±0.03 versus 0.37±0.05 nm/um, respectively, p<0.001). In both AD and ED eyes, OCT mean RNFL thickness decreased with age at a faster rate (2 um per decade p<0.001, R2=7% and 8%, respectively) than the GDx TSNIT average (.06 um per decade in AD) . Birefringence was significantly, although weakly, associated with age in ED eyes overall and in all 4 quadrants, (R2=0.06; p<0.001 for the average birefringence with a 0.007 nm/um increase in birefringence per decade). In AD eyes, birefringence increased with age overall, and in the nasal and temporal quadrants but not in the superior and inferior quadrants.

Conclusions: : RNFL thickness differed by race and decreased with age but the strength of the association depended on the instrument used to measure it. The differences in measured RNFL thickness by SLP and OCT may be related to differences in measured birefringence by race.

Keywords: imaging/image analysis: clinical • nerve fiber layer • aging 
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