Central retinal vascular trunk deviation in unilateral normal-tension glaucoma

Purpose To investigate whether the position of the central retinal vascular trunk (CRVT), as a surrogate of lamina cribrosa (LC) offset, was associated with the presence of glaucoma in normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) patients. Methods The position of the CRVT was measured as the deviation from the center of the Bruch's membrane opening (BMO), as delineated by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography imaging. The offset index was calculated as the distance of the CRVT from the BMO center relative to that of the BMO margin. The angular deviation of CRVT was measured with the horizontal nasal midline as 0 degrees and the superior location as a positive value. The offset index and angular deviation were compared between glaucoma and fellow control eyes within individuals. Results NTG eyes had higher baseline intraocular pressure (P = 0.001), a larger beta-zone parapapillary atrophy area (P = 0.013), and a larger offset index (P<0.001). In a generalized linear mixed-effects model, larger offset index was the only risk factor of NTG diagnosis (OR = 31.625, P<0.001). A generalized estimating equation regression model revealed that the offset index was larger in the NTG eyes than in the control eyes for all ranges of axial length, while it was the smallest for the axial length of 23.4 mm (all P<0.001). Conclusions The offset index was larger in the unilateral NTG eyes, which fact is suggestive of the potential role of LC/BMO offset as a loco-regional susceptibility factor.

Automated summary

The study investigated the association between the position of central retinal vascular trunk (CRVT) and glaucoma in normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) patients. It was found that NTG eyes had a larger offset index relative to control eyes, suggesting that LC/BMO offset may be a local susceptibility factor for NTG.