IOVS
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Originally published In Press as doi:10.1167/iovs.07-1201 on March 3, 2008
 (Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 2008;49:3042-3048.)
© 2008 by The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.
DOI:  10.1167/iovs.07-1201
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
iovs.07-1201v1
49/7/3042    most recent
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ciancaglini, M.
Right arrow Articles by Mastropasqua, L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ciancaglini, M.
Right arrow Articles by Mastropasqua, L.

Conjunctival Modifications in Ocular Hypertension and Primary Open Angle Glaucoma: An In Vivo Confocal Microscopy Study

Marco Ciancaglini, Paolo Carpineto, Luca Agnifili, Mario Nubile, Vincenzo Fasanella, and Leonardo Mastropasqua

From the Department of Medicine and Ageing Science, Ophthalmic Clinic, University of Chieti-Pescara, Pescara, Italy.

PURPOSE. The study was conducted to analyze, by in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM), the conjunctival epithelial characteristics in untreated ocular hypertension (OH) and in topically treated primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

METHODS. The study included 30 eyes affected with untreated OH, 96 eyes with POAG receiving medical therapy, and 15 healthy control eyes. The main outcome measures were the mean density and the mean area of conjunctival epithelium microcysts. The relations among the microscopic parameters intraocular pressure (IOP), and age in both hypertensive and glaucomatous eyes and between mean defect (MD) of visual fields and the time on therapy in patients with glaucoma were analyzed.

RESULTS. There was no evidence of conjunctival microcysts in any of the healthy eyes examined; conversely, conjunctival microcysts were found in all ocular hypertensive eyes (mean microcyst density of 19.7 ± 3.5 cysts/mm2 and mean total microcyst area of 4063.6 ± 921.2 µm2). All patients with POAG showed conjunctival microcysts (mean density of 28.7 ± 2.7 cysts/mm2 and a mean total microcyst area of 6564.2 ± 671.4 µm2). No significant differences were found between OH and POAG subjects for microcyst parameters and no significant relations were found in either OH or POAG eyes for microcyst density, area, IOP, MD, and time on therapy.

CONCLUSIONS. The results of the study show that conjunctival microcysts are features present in all hypertensive and glaucomatous eyes. Based on these findings, conjunctiva could be an additional potential target tissue available for the investigation by a noninvasive in vivo approach of glaucoma-induced pathologic modifications.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2008 by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology