Pulsatile Ocular Blood Flow Analysis in Cases with Primary Open-angle Glaucoma, Ocular Hypertension and Normotensive Glaucoma

Purpose: To investigate the pulsatile ocular blood flow (POBF) levels in cases with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), ocular hypertension (OHT) and normotensive glaucoma (NTG). Material and Method: Totally 99 eyes of 30 POAG (Group 1), 21 OHT (Group 2), 23 NTG (Group 3) and 25 control (Group 4) cases were included in this study. In all cases, intraocular pressure (TOP) and POBF levels were measured by ocular blood flow analyzer. Differences between groups were analyzed statistically. Results: The mean ages of the groups were 54.37 perpendicular to 8.05; 52.57 perpendicular to 7; 52.26 perpendicular to 6.08; and 51.96 perpendicular to 10.28, respectively. While the average TOP levels of groups were 16.91 +/- 3.91; 24.05+2.11; 14.48 +/- 2.15; and 17.47 +/- 3.64 mmHg, respectively (p<0.0001), the mean POBF levels of groups were 16.15 +/- 5.14; 16.64 +/- 4.06; 15.95 +/- 4.48; 20.11 +/- 4.12 mu l/s, respectively (p=0.004). There was statistically significant difference for both TOP and POBF between Group 3 and Group 4. For only TOP, there was statistically significant difference between Group 1 and Group 3 as well as between Group 2 and Groups 1, 3 and 4. There was also significant difference for only POBF between Group 1 and Group 4. In the whole study group, POBF levels did not demonstrate a significant correlation with age and TOP levels (p=0.39 and p=0.812, respectively). Discussion: The levels of POBF were found to be lower in cases with POAG and NTG compared to control cases. This finding supports the vascular theory in glaucomatous optic nerve damage and can be used as a guide in the etiopathogenesis of glaucoma.