RESEARCH ARTICLE
Laser Cyclophotocoagulation Enhances the Regulative Capacity of Retinal Vessels in Glaucoma
Stephan Kremmer*, 1, 2, Gerasimos Anastassiou 1, 2, Maurice Schallenberg 2, Klaus-Peter Steuhl 2, Vilser W3, 4, Michael Selbach J1, 2
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2014Volume: 8
First Page: 27
Last Page: 31
Publisher ID: TOOPHTJ-8-27
DOI: 10.2174/1874364101408010027
Article History:
Received Date: 11/12/2013Revision Received Date: 6/5/2014
Acceptance Date: 22/5/2014
Electronic publication date: 13 /6/2014
Collection year: 2014
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Purpose:
To determine the effects of laser surgical IOP reduction by means of transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (CPC) on retinal blood flow parameters in glaucoma patients using Dynamic Vessel Analysis (DVA).
Materials and Methodology:
26 patients (average age: 70 years) with a long history of primary open angle glaucoma underwent CPC. The effect on the reactive capacity of retinal vessels was assessed before and 6-8 weeks after CPC by means of the Dynamic Vessel Analyzer (DVA) using flicker light provocation.
Results:
In our group of POAG patients, IOP was significantly reduced about approximately 20% by CPC while systemic blood pressure and heart rate were not changed.
The most obvious differences between the pre- and postoperative DVA measurements could be observed in the maximal dilation of the retinal arteries which increased from 0.75 % (+/- 0.6) to 3.17 % (+/- 0.5) with an average increase of 2.4 % (p<0.01). In addition, the ability of the arteries for constriction improved significantly (p<0.05) while the dynamic responses of the veins and the initial baseline values (MU) of the vessel diameters did not change.
Conclusions:
Our results of DVA measurements after an IOP-lowering laser surgical intervention (CPC) reveal a significant recovery of the regulative capacity of retinal arteries in glaucoma patients that has up to now neither been properly documented nor appreciated. Future studies with long-term follow-up must determine the clinical importance of these findings for the treatment of glaucoma patients.
