Assessment of macular pigment optical density of primary open-angle glaucoma patients under topical medication

Abstract

BackgroundGlaucoma is a progressive, sight-threatening disease. In this study, we aimed to compare macular pigment optical density (MPOD) measurements of the primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients under topical therapy with the control group. MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 55 eyes of 30 POAG patients and 42 eyes of 22 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The data of all participants were analyzed retrospectively. Subsequently, patients with POAG were divided into two groups: Group 1 received therapy including prostaglandin analogue (PGA), and group 2 was using anti-glaucomatous drugs other than PGA. All participants underwent detailed ophthalmologic examination, including fundus photography and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. In addition, MPOD was measured using the Zeiss Visucam 500 fundus camera. Mann-Whitney U test, Independent samples t-test, and one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests were used to compare the values between and among groups. ResultsThere was no significant difference in age and sex between POAG and healthy controls (p = 0.229, p = 0.376, respectively). All MPOD values were higher in the glaucoma group than in the control group. MPOD max, MPOD volume, and MPOD area were significantly higher in the POAG group than in the control group (p<0.05 for all). However, there was no significant difference in the mean MPOD (p = 0.083). In addition, in pairwise comparisons, the PGA therapy group had significantly higher MPOD values than the control group (p<0.05 for all). ConclusionMPOD levels increased in patients receiving PGA treatment. In addition, retinal nerve fiber layer thickness was positively correlated with MPOD levels in POAG patients. Therefore, PGAs may have a neuroprotective effect.