Abstract
Purpose :
Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), one of the most important causes of blindness worldwide, is characterized by a progressive degeneration of the optic nerve head (ONH) resulting in visual field defects.
Although an increased intraocular pressure (IOP) has been identified as the main risk factor for the ONH degeneration, the pathophysiologic mechanism underlying this disease remains unclear. There is emerging evidence showing that uric acid (UA), an important antioxidant agent, may play a key role in the primary angle closure glaucoma development.
Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the role of UA in the POAG pathogenesis and progression of ONH damage in Sardinian patients.
Methods :
Forty-six eyes of 23 patients with a clinical history of POAG and 30 eyes of 15 healthy subjects were enrolled in this retrospective study.
All patients underwent a complete ophthalmological examination, including best corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, IOP (Goldman applanation tonometry), gonioscopy, dilated fundoscopy, visual field examination (Humphrey II 740 Visual Field Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany) and Optic Disc Cube OCT (Cirrus Hd OCT,software version 6.1.0.96; Carl Zeiss Meditec), at baseline and at 1 year follow up.
A peripheral blood sample was collected from each patient at baseline and tested for UA and creatinine (Cr) serum levels.
Results :
In POAG patients, the mean serum level of UA and Cr. were 4,00 ± 0,66 mg/dl and 0,73 ± 0,18 mg/dl respectively, while in the healthy controls they were 4,95 ± 0,86 mg/dl and 1,03 ± 0,12 mg/dl respectively. The mean serum levels of UA were significantly lower in patients with POAG than in healthy subjects (p<0.0001).
Moreover, in POAG patients there was a statistically significant negative correlation between the mean serum level of UA and visual field indices at 1 year follow-up (p<0.05)
Conclusions :
The present study shows that the mean serum levels of UA are decreased in POAG patients and negatively associated with the disease severity. Results suggest a possible association between UA and the development of POAG, as well the involvement of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of POAG.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.