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Macular thickness changes may indicate retinal ganglion cell loss

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MIAMI — Changes in macular thickness may be a surrogate indicator of retinal ganglion cell loss, according to a study.

David S. Greenfield, MD, and others here at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute correlated the macular thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in eyes with and without glaucoma using optical coherence tomography. The researchers included 30 eyes with glaucoma and 29 eyes without glaucoma in the study. Macular thickness measurements were generated using six radial optical coherence tomography scans centered on the fovea. Both mean and quandrantic macular thickness values were analyzed.

All of the glaucomatous eyes had an associated visual field loss. Visual field mean defects were significantly associated with mean macular thickness (P < .001). Mean macular thickness was also associated with pattern standard deviation and mean RNFL thickness (both P < .001).

In the eyes with glaucoma where one quadrant was affected while another was not, mean RNFL thickness in the affected quadrant was significantly thinner than in the unaffected quadrant (P = .009), the researchers found.

The study is published in the January issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.