This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Silent cerebral infarct possible risk factor for visual field progression in some normal tension glaucoma cases
Ophthalmology. 2009;116(7):1250-1256.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Progression of visual loss appears to be connected to silent cerebral infarct in normal tension glaucoma cases, a study found.
"The present study demonstrated a statistical as well as a temporal association between [silent cerebral infarct] and [visual field] progression in [normal tension glaucoma] patients," study authors said.
The prospective cohort study examined 286 eyes of 286 patients with normal tension glaucoma. Of those, 64 had silent cerebral infarct. Patients were divided into two groups, with or without silent cerebral infarct, determined by cranial computed tomography scan at baseline. Follow-up was 4-month intervals, for up to 36 months.
The study authors found that 65.6% of silent cerebral infarct cases had progressed visually vs. 45.9% of patients without silent cerebral infarct (P = .003).
"Univariate analyses revealed age, fluctuation amplitude of pretreatment IOP, thinner CCT, presence of disc hemorrhage, systemic hypertension, arrhythmia and [silent cerebral infarct] were significant for field progression. Silent cerebral infarct was present in 29.6% of field-progressed subjects, versus 15.3% of field-stable subjects (P = .004)," clinicians said.