Abstract
Purpose :
Corneal hysteresis (CH) has been shown to be an independent risk factor for the development and progression of glaucoma. Topical Prostaglandin Analogues (PGA) are a common first-line treatment for open-angle glaucomas. Previous studies have found that high CH values are associated with a lower rate of visual field loss, while low CH have been identified as an independent risk factor for development and progression of glaucoma. PGA’s have been demonstrated to increase CH through several mechanisms including reduced central corneal thickness, increased keratocyte density, and lower intraocular pressure. The aim of this study is to investigate if starting PGA treatment alters corneal hysteresis in a treatment naïve, racially diverse group of patients.
Methods :
A total of 38 eyes from 19 patients were analyzed. Patients with a diagnosis of either primary open angle glaucoma, ocular hypertension, normal tension glaucoma, or anatomically narrow angle who were treatment naïve were included. CH measurements were taken with the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA) prior to PGA use and after PGA use. CH measurements with waveform score lower than 3.5 were excluded. Demographic data for the patients was also obtained.
Results :
Paired T-Test were completed to examine variance between untreated and treated CH values for each patient. Significant increases in CH were observed after PGA use in both right eye (OD) (p=0.02) and left eyes (OS) (p=0.002). There was an average CH increase of 1.08 (SD=+1.70) OD and 1.13 (SD=+1.28) OS. 57.89% of the study population identified as African American/Black, 26.32% Hispanic, 10.53% White, and 5.26% Asian.
Conclusions :
These findings demonstrated a significant increase in CH after starting PGA use in a predominantly Black and Hispanic population. This increase in CH could lead to a reduction in glaucoma progression, as well as identify a possible modifiable risk factor for glaucoma that was previously not considered, particularly in populations that are already at higher risk, and identify a new therapeutic effect of PGA. Further studies are necessary to determine if the effects of PGA on CH persist long term.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.