What Does Ocular Pulse Amplitude Tell Us About Glaucoma?

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between measurements of the ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) and intraocular pressure, retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, axial length and central corneal thickness in glaucoma patients compared to healthy subjects.Methods: One eye of 20 glaucoma patients defined by glaucomatous optic neuropathy (GON) based on clinical exam and 10 healthy subjects with normal optic nerve head exam, normal visual fields on standard automated perimetry (SAP) and normal intraocular pressure (IOP Results: There was no significant difference in age, refraction or gender between glaucoma patients and healthy subjects. Ocular pulse amplitude in glaucoma patients was lower than in the healthy group (2.98 ± 0.58 vs. 2.49 ± 1.04). OPA was significantly correlated to IOP in glaucoma patients and healthy subjects (r = 0.56, pConclusions: The glaucoma patients had lower OPA than healthy subjects. An explanation might be that our patients were treated for glaucoma with a mean IOP of 18.4 ± 1.5 mm Hg. It would be interesting to know if OPA changes after a wash-out period of local treatment in one eye of glaucoma patients in order to investigate if therapy influences OPA measurements