Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To describe a series of young and middle aged men of Chinese origin who presented with a cluster of ocular findings suggestive of glaucoma, which were found to be stable over a seven year period. Methods: The medical records of sixteen male patients of Chinese origin presenting to the glaucoma practice of one university based ophthalmologist in the United States over a seven year period were reviewed. All such patients had been given one of the following diagnoses: "glaucoma suspect," "primary open angle glaucoma," or "normal tension glaucoma." Less than 5% of all patients in this practice were of Chinese origin. Results: The patient’s ages ranged from 25–66 years, with an average age of 38.9 years. Tilted discs were present in 75.0% (24/32) of nerves, while peripapillary atrophy was seen in 81.3% (26/32). Cup to disc ratios ranged from 0.2–0.95, and averaged 0.56. Intraocular pressures (IOP) ranged from 8–29 mm Hg in all patients, and the average range was 13.5–17.9 mm Hg. Intraocular pressure lowering therapy had been used in 56.3% (9/16) of patients at some point. Family history (FH) of presumed glaucoma was present in 25.0% (4/16) patients. High myopia (greater than –6.00 diopter spherical equivalent) was present in 43.8% of eyes (14/32), and spherical equivalents ranged from –11.25 to +0.25. The most common visual field defect was an arcuate defect, which was found in 31.3% (10/32) of patients. There were no females of Chinese origin in this age group who presented with a similar cluster of nonprogressive ocular findings. Patients included in study
Conclusions: Sixteen young males of Chinese origin who were classified as having open angle glaucoma, normal tension glaucoma or as glaucoma suspects were found to have stable ocular findings for up to seven years whether or not they were treated. Further prospective epidemiologic study is needed to determine whether such a cluster of non progressive findings is more common in young Chinese males than the general population.
Keywords: optic disc • visual fields • pathology: human