MEASUREMENT OF GLAUCOMATOUS NERVE-FIBER L AYER DAMAGE USING LASER POLARIMETRY

The purpose of this study was to compare laser polarimetric measuremen ts of the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (NFLT) with correspondin g visual fields.Patients and methods: A total of 45 eyes of 45 patient s were equally divided into three age-matched groups (controls, glauco ma, suspected glaucoma). All patients were examined using laser polari metry and automated visual field testing. We compared the agreement of the location of visual field defects with changes in the nerve fiber layer. In addition we calculated the change in NFLT along a peripapill ary circle at four different distances of the optic disc margin.Result s: The localization of nerve fiber defects corresponds to the localiza tion of the visual field defect exactly in eight of 15 eyes and roughl y in another five. Six of the eyes suspected of having glaucoma showed pathological results with the nerve fiber analyzer (NFA) although vis ual fields were normal. There was a significant difference for NFLT ch ange towards the periphery between the three groups. Conclusion: While the NFA does not always allow a definite correlation between morpholo gical defects and resulting functional impairment, a decrease in the N FLT with increasing distance from the optic disc margin seems helpful for clinical classification. The value of this new method has yet to b e proven in longitudinal clinical studies.