Macular Thickness Asymmetry Measurements in Relatives of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma Patients

Abstract

Background: A family history of glaucoma was found to carry a relative risk of 2.1 times for being associated with at least possible primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) in middle aged and older individuals. Around half of all POAG patients have a positive family history and their first degree relatives have an approximately 9-fold increased risk of developing glaucoma. Objective: the aim of the present study was to demonstrate possible early macular alterations in young relatives of POAG patients using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) posterior pole asymmetry analysis (PPAA) map. Patients and methods: in a prospective comparative study; 40 subjects were classified into 2 groups: group of young healthy relatives of POAG patients and another group of young healthy subjects as control. All participants had OCT of the PPAA, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell complex (GCC) and hemi-field macular thickness. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the relative and control group in aspect of RNFL, macular hemi-fields and PPAA measurements (P-value >0.05). Regarding GCC thickness, there were statistically significant differences between both groups in the superior, inferior and nasal thickness measurements. Conclusion: Young healthy relatives of POAG patients didn’t show any early glaucomatous damage when compared with controls except for GCC thickness which showed statistically significant decrease.