August 09, 2007
1 min read
Save

Doppler imaging useful for evaluating ocular blood flow in glaucoma patients

Open-angle glaucoma is associated with a decrease in both peak systolic and end diastolic blood flow velocities and a possible increase in the ocular vasculature resistive index, according to a study by researchers in India.

Dilip Pandit, MD, and colleagues at Mumbai Port Trust Hospital used color Doppler imaging to measure the ocular blood flow velocity and resistive index in the central retinal and the short posterior ciliary arteries of 100 patients. The study included 40 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), 40 patients with normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and a control group of 20 non-glaucoma subjects.

The researchers found that the mean peak systolic and end diastolic velocities in the central retinal artery were both significantly lower in patients with either POAG or NTG, according to the study.

However, patients with POAG showed no significant alterations in the short posterior medial and lateral ciliary arteries compared to controls, although patients with NTG showed significant decreases in end diastolic velocity, the authors noted.

"Generally, the resistive index tended to be higher in patients with glaucoma than in controls, most noticeably in the central retinal artery, but the differences were not statistically significant," the authors said in the study, noting that no significant differences were seen between the two glaucoma patient groups.

The study is published in the April issue of Asian Journal of Ophthalmology.