Abstract
Purpose::
To examine whether blood flow velocities and resistance to flow in the retrobulbar circulation varies with age in primary open angle glaucoma patients (OAG).
Methods::
An analysis of 5 prospective OAG studies was performed at the Department of Ophthalmology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Color Doppler imaging (CDI) of the ophthalmic (OA), central retinal (CRA) and posterior ciliary (PCA) arteries was performed in 69 patients. We compared peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV) and resistive index (RI) within those 3 vessels with various demographic data including gender, race and age. The strength of the linear association among all of these parameters was assessed using the Pearson Correlation Coefficients.
Results::
RI of the OA (r=0.25, p=0.04), temporal PCA (r=0.4, p=0.034) and nasal PCA (r=0.28, p=0.039) was significantly correlated with age. RI of the CRA did not achieve significance (p=0.09). No significant correlation was found between age and PSV or EDV in any of the vessels.
Conclusions::
In this cohort of patients with OAG, age was found to be correlated with the RI of the OA and both nasal and temporal PCAs, but not in the CRA. This data suggests that the PCA’s perfusing the prelaminar, laminar and choroidal circulation are susceptible to the effects of aging in OAG patients. In the CRA, which perfuses the superficial optic nerve head as well as the ganglion cell layer of the retina, RI does not seem to be influenced by age.
Keywords: aging • blood supply • aging: visual performance