Thickness of the Lamina Cribrosa, Retinal-Nerve Fiber Layer, and Peripapillary Choroid in Patients with Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion.

PURPOSE: To compare the thickness of the lamina cribrosa (LC), retinal-nerve fiber layer (RNFL), and peripapillary choroid (PC) in patients with unilateral branch retinal-vein occlusion (BRVO) and healthy individuals.

METHODS

The 70 eyes of 35 patients with unilateral BRVO, grouped as either affected or unaffected, and 38 right eyes of 38 healthy individuals were examined for LC, RNFL, PC thickness, and LC depth with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

RESULTS

The unaffected eyes of patients with BRVO had a significantly thinner RNFL on average and in the inferior quadrant than the eyes of healthy controls. Mean LC thickness in BRVO-affected and BRVO-unaffected eyes was significantly thinner than in controls, and mean LC depth was significantly deeper as well. The average, superior, and inferior PC thickness in both BRVO-affected and BRVO-unaffected eyes and nasal PC thickness in the BRVO-affected eyes were significantly thinner than in the eyes of controls.

CONCLUSION

Thinner LCs and PCs in both eyes of patients with unilateral BRVO and thinner RNFLs in BRVO-unaffected eyes than in the eyes of healthy controls suggest that BRVO and glaucoma have underlying pathological mechanisms and risk factors in common that lead to their development.