Peripapillary Fluorescein Angiographic Findings in Non-glaucomatous Eyes

Abstract

In fluorescein angiography (FAG), glaucomatous eyes show a zone of no fluorescence around the disc and hyperfluorescence indicating serum diffusion at the margin of the zone, which play some role in glaucomatous optic nerve damage. But detailed FAG findings have not been reported in non-glaucomatous eyes. We conducted a study to investigate whether peripapillary FAG findings in glaucomatous eyes were specific to glaucoma or not. 46 eyes of 46 subjects were selected by some reservations from all the non-glaucomatous patients undergoing FAG in 1996. We studied FAG films and measured the zone of no fluorescence adjacent to the disc (non-fluorescent zone). 44 eyes (95.6%) showed a non-fluorescent zone. The non-fluorescent zone was clearly wider in temporal sectors than nasal sectors, and its width was related to the refraction. There were two types of non-fluorescent zone, one showing hyperfluorescence from the outer boundary of the zone in the late phase, and the other showing hyperfluorescence from the disc margin. The width of the non-fluorescent zone in the former type was wider than in the latter type. These results are similar to the findings in glaucomatous eyes. These findings suggest that not only glaucomatous eyes but also non-glaucomatous eyes have a variety of histological structures and serum diffusion around the disc.