Color Doppler imaging and spectral analysis of the optic nerve vasculature in glaucoma.

PURPOSE: We used color Doppler imaging to study blood flow velocity in the central retinal artery and the short posterior ciliary arteries in patients with glaucoma.

METHOD: Fifty-two patients with chronic open-angle glaucoma, 24 patients with normal-tension glaucoma, and 28 normal subjects were studied. The mean of the peak systolic velocity, the end diastolic velocity, and the resistive index were compared in the three groups.

RESULTS

Compared with the normal subjects, the patients with chronic open-angle glaucoma showed a statistically significant (P < .05) decrease in the mean end diastolic velocity and an increase in the mean resistive index in all vessels studied. The patients with normal-tension glaucoma showed similar changes, achieving significance most prominently in the central retinal arteries, compared with normal subjects (P < .05). There were no statistically significant differences between the patients with chronic open-angle glaucoma and those with normal-tension glaucoma.

CONCLUSIONS

Open-angle glaucoma appears to be associated with a decreased mean flow velocity and an increased mean resistive index in the ocular vasculature. These changes are in keeping with possibly compromised circulation in this region.