Simultaneous comparison of relative damage to chromatic pathways in ocular hypertension and glaucoma: correlation with clinical measures.

PURPOSE: To use a new methodological approach, based on luminance noise, to assess without bias the relative damage of blue-yellow and red-green pathways in ocular hypertension and glaucoma and to correlate obtained measurements with clinical markers of disease progression.

METHODS

A psychophysical procedure modified from Cambridge color test was used to assess color discrimination in three different groups: patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (n = 51 eyes), patients with ocular hypertension (n = 95 eyes), and control subjects (n = 46 eyes). Viewing conditions were such that the function of the macula was being tested, using a discrimination task under noisy conditions. Confusion vectors, and parameters obtained from discrimination ellipses were correlated with perimetric and clinical data taken from the same groups.

RESULTS

The lengths of the major axis of chromatic discrimination ellipses and all confusion vectors were significantly different between the groups. These measures followed a significant gradient of worsening performance from the control to hypertensive and glaucoma groups, which was steeper for the tritan axis. There was a significant global positive correlation between test parameters and cup-to-disc ratio and a significant negative correlation with the perimetric mean deviation index. Ellipse length in patients with ocular hypertension correlated significantly with the duration of their hypertensive state.

CONCLUSIONS

This psychophysical test can detect visual dysfunction in a significant subset of patients with long-term hypertension with preserved visual fields. Macular function is damaged earlier than previously believed, in both the blue-yellow and red-green pathways.