A two-year follow-up of oral antioxidant supplementation in primary open-angle glaucoma: an open-label, randomized, controlled trial.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of oral antioxidant supplementation (OAS) on primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) over a 2-year follow-up period. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this open-label, randomized controlled trial, 117 eyes of 117 patients with mild or moderate POAG and intraocular pressure under control with topical antiglaucoma medications were recruited and randomly divided into three groups according to supplementation: (1) OAS with (ICAPS R(®) - Alcon Laboratories, n = 26); (2) OAS without ω-3 fatty acids (OFTAN MACULA(®) - Laboratorios Esteve, n = 28); and (3) a control group without OAS (n = 63). They all underwent visual field (VF) tests (Humphrey 24-2) and scans using a Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) device (RTVue-100) at the beginning of the study and 2 years later. Mean deviation (MD), standard pattern deviation (PSD), peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) and macular ganglion cell complex (GCC) parameters were considered for the analysis. Patients were also classified according to MD deterioration (fast deterioration vs. slow deterioration). RESULTS: Visual field global indices, peripapillary RNFL thickness and macular GCC thickness showed no differences among the groups at the beginning and end of the follow-up. Besides all the comparisons among groups for differences before and after the follow-up of the MD, PSD, RNFL and GCC parameters were also non-significant. The proportions of patients according to MD deterioration were similar among the groups and subgroups (p > 0.05 for all the comparisons). CONCLUSION: Oral antioxidant supplementation with or without ω-3 fatty acids does not appear useful as an adjuvant treatment of mild/moderate POAG in the short term.

Comparative study of central corneal thickness using Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography versus ultrasound pachymetry in primary open-angle glaucoma.

PURPOSE: To compare central corneal thickness (CCT) results measured by Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) and ultrasound pachymetry (USP) in glaucomatous eyes. METHODS: In this prospective, observational cross-sectional study, 80 eyes of 80 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and no other ocular abnormality were selected: 28 were treated with 1 drug (subgroup 1), 32 with 2 drugs (subgroup 2), and 20 with 3 drugs (subgroup 3). CCT was measured by FD-OCT (RTVue OCT) and USP (Pachymeter Reichert IOPac). Bland-Altman plots were used to assess the agreement between both instruments. The differences between CCTs measured by USP and FD-OCT were compared among the 3 subgroups. RESULTS: The mean CCT was 537.76 ± 32.24 µm and 520.53 ± 30.44 µm for USP and FD-OCT, respectively. A significant difference was found between the mean values obtained by FD-OCT and USP (17.22 ± 7.96 µm, P < 0.001, paired Student t test). A high correlation was obtained for CCT measured by both methods (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.969; P < 0.001), and there was good agreement between the 2 pachymetry methods. Similar differences in CCT using USP and FD-OCT were found among the 3 treatment subgroups (P > 0.05 in all pairwise comparisons, analysis of variance). CONCLUSIONS: FD-OCT underestimates CCT compared with CCT measured by USP in POAG. Although highly correlated, the difference between these 2 devices can be clinically significant in the context of refractive surgeries in POAG patients but not in intraocular pressure estimation. This difference also seems to be independent of the number of antiglaucoma treatments used.

Comparison of global indices and test duration between two visual field analyzers: Octopus 300 and Topcon SBP-3000.

PURPOSE: To compare the global indices and test duration as measured by Octopus 300 and Topcon SBP-3000 perimeters. To our knowledge, this is the first study performed in this way. METHODS: Eighty eyes of 40 glaucomatous and ocular hypertensive patients with previous perimetric experience had visual field tests with Octopus 300 (TOP strategy) and TOPCON SBP-3000. All pairs of tests were performed randomly on separate days, but within 1 month of each other. Taking into account reliability factors of both perimetric examinations, 54 eyes of thirty patients were eligible. Only one eye from each patient was considered. Mean sensitivity (MS), mean defect (MD), loss of variance (sLV-Octopus- and LV -Topcon-) and test duration times were considered. RESULTS: A significant difference was found between the global indices and duration times of the Octopus and the Topcon perimeters (p < 0.05; Wilcoxon test). Moderate degrees of correlation were obtained for MS (Spearman's rho = 0.635; p < 0.001) and MD (Spearman's rho = 0.592; p = 0.001) measurements. There was no correlation between sLV and LV (Spearman's rho = 0.181; p = 0.337). Agreements between pairs of global indices were low as measured by concordance correlation coefficient. CONCLUSION: Global indices measured by the Octopus and Topcon perimeters are significantly different, so direct comparison of the measured values is not reliable. Because of the poor association and agreement between values obtained by these two perimeters, indirect comparison is also inadvisable.

Central corneal thickness, intraocular pressure, and degree of myopia in an adult myopic population aged 20 to 40 years in southeast Spain: determination and relationships.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the values of, and study the relationships among, central corneal thickness (CCT), intraocular pressure (IOP), and degree of myopia (DM) in an adult myopic population aged 20 to 40 years in Almeria (southeast Spain). To our knowledge this is first study of this kind in this region. METHODS: An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study was done in which a sample of 310 myopic patients (620 eyes) aged 20 to 40 years was selected by gender- and age-stratified sampling, which was proportionally fixed to the size of the population strata for which a 20% prevalence of myopia, 5% epsilon, and a 95% confidence interval were hypothesized. We studied IOP, CCT, and DM and their relationships by calculating the mean, standard deviation, 95% confidence interval for the mean, median, Fisher's asymmetry coefficient, range (maximum, minimum), and the Brown-Forsythe's robust test for each variable (IOP, CCT, and DM). RESULTS: In the adult myopic population of Almeria aged 20 to 40 years (mean of 29.8), the mean overall CCT was 550.12 µm. The corneas of men were thicker than those of women (P = 0.014). CCT was stable as no significant differences were seen in the 20- to 40-year-old subjects' CCT values. The mean overall IOP was 13.60 mmHg. Men had a higher IOP than women (P = 0.002). Subjects over 30 years (13.83) had a higher IOP than those under 30 (13.38) (P = 0.04). The mean overall DM was -4.18 diopters. Men had less myopia than women (P < 0.001). Myopia was stable in the 20- to 40-year-old study population (P = 0.089). A linear relationship was found between CCT and IOP (R(2) = 0.152, P ≤ 0.001). CCT influenced the IOP value by 15.2%. However no linear relationship between DM and IOP, or between CCT and DM, was found. CONCLUSIONS: CCT was found to be similar to that reported in other studies in different populations. IOP tends to increase after the age of 30 and is not accounted for by alterations in CCT values.