Apparent cleavage of the retinal nerve fiber layer in asymptomatic eyes with high myopia.

The appearance of the retinal nerve fiber layer was studied in one eye of 203 normal Asians (59 with high myopia greater than or equal to -5 D, and 144 with emmetropia or hyperopia). "Cleavage" of the retinal nerve fiber layer was observed in 3 of these 59 highly myopic eyes, but there was no significant damage to either the retinal pigment epithelium or the choroid. In contrast, no cleavage was observed in the other 144 emmetropic or hyperopic eyes. High myopia (P = 0.0237, Fisher's exact test) was a significant risk factor for "cleavage" development in the retinal nerve fiber layer. The occurrence of a defect (nerve fiber loss) in the retinal nerve fiber layer in severe myopia (5/59, 8%) was also greater than that in either emmetropia or hyperopia (2/144, 1%; P = 0.0229). These results indicate that subtle changes can occur in the appearance of the retinal nerve fiber layer of the eye in some patients with asymptomatic myopia.