REDUCED TRABECULAR MESHWORK HEIGHT IN JUVENILE PRIMARY OPEN-ANGLE GLAUCOMA

Objective: To compare trabecular meshwork height in a series of patien ts with juvenile primary open-angle glaucoma (JPOAG) with that in norm al control patients. Methods: Ultrasound biomicroscopy and A-scan biom etry were performed on 16 eyes with JPOAG and 24 normal eyes. A radial , perpendicular image in the horizontal temporal meridian detailing th e line of Schwalbe, scleral spur, and angle anatomy was obtained For e ach eye by a single examiner. Trabecular meshwork height was defined a s the distance from the scleral spur to the Schwalbe line. Results: Me an patient age (P = .85, t test), refractive error (P = .68), sex dist ribution (P = .26, Fisher exact test) and axial length (P = .39) were similar between the groups. Mean +/- SE trabecular meshwork heights we re 0.36 +/- 0.03 mm (range, 0.19-0.53 mm) for JPOAG and 0.58 +/- 0.02 mm (range, 0.40-0.80 mm) for controls (P < .001). Eyes with greater ax ial length tended to have larger trabecular meshworks in both groups ( P = .012, multivariate regression). A trabecular meshwork height-atria l length ratio of 0.021 or less was associated with a significantly in creased risk for JPOAG being present (odds ratio, 57; 95% confidence i nterval, 6.0-541). Conclusion: The trabecular meshwork is smaller in e yes with JPOAG compared with that in normal eyes. This finding suggest s a structural abnormality that may underlie the reduced outflow.