Association of Aqueous Humor Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha with Retinal Ganglion Cell Thickness in Juvenile versus Adult-Onset Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma.

AIMS: To evaluate the association between aqueous humor tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and retinal ganglion cell (RGC) layer in patients with juvenile open-angle glaucoma (JOAG) and their comparison with adult-onset primary open-angle glaucoma patients (POAG).

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

This analytical cross-sectional study included 15 JOAG patients (aged 7-40 years) and 15 POAG patients (> 40 years). Aqueous Humor (AH) samples were collected during trabeculectomy, TNF-α concentrations were measured using ELISA, and RGC thickness was assessed by Optical Coherence Tomography (Cirrus HD-OCT, Carl Zeiss). Group differences were analyzed using the independent t-test, and correlations were evaluated with Pearson's test.

RESULTS

The mean AH TNF-α level in the JOAG group (179.02 ±27.04 pg/mL) was significantly higher than in the POAG group (130.17 ±18.62 pg/mL; p.