Comparison of retinal ganglion cell-related layer asymmetry between early glaucoma eyes with superior and inferior hemiretina damage.

AIM

To compare retinal ganglion cell (RGC)-related layer thickness asymmetry between early open-angle glaucoma (EG) eyes with superior and inferior hemiretina damage.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study including 95 EG eyes (mean deviation >-2 dB, including 43 preperimetric glaucoma eyes) with photographically determined glaucomatous retinal nerve fibre layer defect and disc change confined to one hemiretina, and 93 age, sex and refraction matched normal subjects as controls. Ganglion cell complex, ganglion cell layer+inner plexiform layer and circumpapillary retinal nerve fibre layer thickness measured by spectral domain optical coherence imaging were compared between the affected and unaffected hemiretinae within each glaucoma eye as well as to those of the corresponding hemiretina of normal control eyes.

RESULTS

Intraeye comparison revealed that there was no significant difference in all parameters between the affected and unaffected hemiretinae in eyes with superior hemiretina damage (p=0.1100.343) while all parameters were thinner in the affected inferior hemiretina compared with the unaffected superior hemiretina in eyes with inferior hemiretina damage (p<0.001). The affected hemiretina of both groups were thinner compared with normal controls (p<0.001). All parameters of the unaffected hemiretina of eyes with superior hemiretina damage were thinner than normal controls (p<0.001), while eyes with inferior hemiretina damage showed no significant difference compared with those of their corresponding hemiretina of normal eyes (p=0.0860.924).

CONCLUSION

The pattern of RGC damage in early stage glaucoma may differ depending on which horizontal hemiretina is affected first.