Reduced fibrinolytic activity in aqueous humor of chronic simple glaucoma.

Fibrinolytic activity of aqueous humor was tested by the Astrup fibrin plate lysis technique in 7 patients who had chronic simple glaucoma and was compared with a control group of 7 patients with senile cataract. The plasminogen activator content of aqueous humour in glaucoma patients was remarkably reduced; it was not demonstrable in as many as six out of seven patients. The lysis zones in the control group ranged from 110 to 900 mm2 with an average of 423 mm2. The want of aqueous fibrinolytic activity may have a pathogenetic implication for glaucoma since deposition of fibrin in the angle of the eye to depressed fibrinolytic activity could increase resistance to aqueous flow.