Association Between Peripheral Vascular Endothelial Function and Progression of Open-Angle Glaucoma

The aim of the study is to evaluate the relationship between Humphrey visual field progression and peripheral vascular endothelial function in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG), assessed by noninvasive endothelium-dependent flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD). Forty OAG patients, among which 22 had normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) and 18 had primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) were enrolled. Each enrolled patient underwent a thorough ophthalmological examination including the Humphrey visual field test and measurement of FMD via high-resolution 2-dimensional ultrasonographic imaging of the brachial artery. Blood samples were evaluated for biochemistry and lipid profiles as well as levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). The annual change of threshold sensitivity of the visual field in each test location were analyzed with pointwise linear regression. The correlation between long-term visual field progression and FMD was evaluated. A mean follow-up of 7.47 ± 1.84 years revealed a faster progression rate over the superior visual field in all 40 OAG patients (superior field −0.24 ± 0.67 dB/y, inferior field −0.10 ± 0.59 dB/y, P = 0.37). However, only the annual sensitivity change of the inferior peripheral field showed correlation with baseline FMD. There was no significant difference in the change slope of visual field between NTG and POAG patients. A correlation between baseline brachial artery FMD and visual field progression was observed in the inferior peripheral field in patients with NTG and POAG. This result suggests that peripheral vascular endothelial dysfunction may be related to glaucoma progression.