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Comparative study of cerebral blood flow in patients with normal-tension glaucoma and control subjects.

Sugiyama T, Utsunomiya K, Ota H, Ogura Y, Narabayashi I, Ikeda T

Department of Ophthalmology, Osaka Medical College, Osaka, Japan. opt017@poh.osaka-med.ac.jp

PURPOSE: To evaluate regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in normal-tension glaucoma patients (NTGs) compared with normal volunteers (controls) in a pilot study. DESIGN: Observational cohort study. METHODS: The Iodine-123-IMP single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans were acquired in 31 NTGs and 18 age-matched controls. The SPECT images in NTGs were classified and the quantitative rCBF data were compared with controls. RESULTS: Seven of 31 NTGs (22.6%) exhibited an Alzheimer's disease (AD)-like perfusion pattern although none of them were clinically diagnosed with AD. The visual field defect of NTGs with an AD-like pattern progressed more rapidly than NTGs with a normal pattern (P=.132). The rCBF in left parietal regions of NTGs with senile sclerotic or focal ischemic disk was significantly lower than controls (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: A number of NTGs exhibited an AD-like perfusion pattern, suggesting that some of NTGs and AD patients might have a common pathologic mechanism.

Published 6 February 2006 in Am J Ophthalmol, 141(2): 394-6.
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