Abstract
Presentation Description :
Microvascular changes have been documented in glaucoma since decades. There is, however, a controvery whether these changes are a contributing risk factor for disease progression or a consequence of retinal ganglion cell loss and the associated reduction in metabolic demand. In this talk evidence will be provided that both is the case: microvascular changes are a risk factor progression but are also secondary to retinal ganglion cell and axon loss. Hence, microvascular changes may be a treatment target particularly highlightening the improtance of optimized cardiovasular disease management. On the other hand microvascular changes as visulaized with optical coherence tomography angiography may serve as a biomarker for retinal damage. This may be particularly important as an anatomical marker in advanced glaucoma.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.