Purpose: Compare (a) nonmitomycin C (MMC) trabeculectomy and 1.5% dexamethasone nanoparticle (DexNP) eye drops postoperatively with (b) trabeculectomy with MMC and Maxidex® eye drops postoperatively.

Methods: Randomized prospective single masked clinical trial with 20 patients with primary open‐angle glaucoma undergoing primary trabeculectomy. The study group consisted of 10 patients without MMC intraoperatively and postoperative DexNP eye drops, and the control group consisted of 10 patients treated with MMC intraoperatively and postoperative Maxidex®. The drops were tapered out over 8 weeks. The main outcome measures were as follows: rates of complete success, that is intraocular pressure (IOP) within target pressures at different time‐points without IOP‐lowering medication, or reoperation. Secondary outcome measures included the following: relative success rate (with IOP‐lowering medications), number of glaucoma medications and reoperations. Patients were followed for 36 months.

Results: Both groups showed similar postoperative course and IOP reduction. Intraocular pressures (IOPs) in the DexNP group and in the control group were 25.6 and 24.4 mmHg, respectively, at baseline. Intraocular pressures (IOPs) were reduced to 13.2 and 14.5 mmHg at 12 months, 11.7 and 12.6 mmHg at 24 months and 11.7 and 12.1 mmHg at 36 months, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in absolute (p = 0.36) or relative (p = 1.0) success rates, number of medications (p = 0.71) or reoperations (p = 1.0) between the groups at any time‐point.

Conclusions: DexNP eye drops are effective postoperative treatment following trabeculectomy. The potent anti‐inflammatory and antifibrotic effect of DexNP may offer an alternative to mitomycin C in glaucoma surgery.

Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of all transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (TCP) treatments performed during a 5-year period.

Methods: Medical records of all patients, who had undergone TCP treatment between 2010 and 2014 at Umea University Hospital, Sweden, were evaluated. Clinical data including intraocular pressure (IOP), visual acuity (VA), number of topical glaucoma medications, use of oral acetazolamide, retreatments and complications during a 2-year follow-up were registered. Global success was defined as IOP 6-18 mmHg with or without glaucoma medication. 

Results: Three hundred patients underwent TCP during the time period. Mean IOP at baseline was 29.3 11.0 (mean +/- standard deviation) mmHg (n = 297) with a mean reduction of 11.5 (+/- 12.0) mmHg at 1 year (n = 258; p < 0.001) and 12.6 (<plus/minus>12.0) mmHg at 2-year follow-up (n = 245; p < 0.001). Global success at 2 years was 64%, achieved by a mean of 1.2 treatments (n = 257). The number of topical glaucoma medications at baseline was 3.1 (<plus/minus>1.0; n = 296) and was reduced by 0.9 (+/- 1.0) medications at 2 years (n = 244; p < 0.001). Use of oral acetazolamide decreased from 30% (n = 90) at baseline to 5.3% (n = 13) at 2 years. In eyes with Snellen VA <greater than or equal to> 0.1, the mean VA at baseline was 0.55 (+/- 0.3) logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR; n = 132) and 1.1 (+/- 0.9) logMAR (n = 76) at 2 years (p < 0.001). No cases of phthisis bulbi were found.

Conclusion: This study displays a substantial and long-term reduction of IOP following TCP with a decrease in topical and oral glaucoma medications. The treatment appears to be safe but the decrease in VA during follow-up is a concern that needs further evaluation.

Purpose: To determine the blood flow rate of the ophthalmic artery (OA) in patients with Normal Tension Glaucoma (NTG) compared to age-matched healthy controls using phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PCMRI).

Methods: Seventeen patients with treated NTG (11 female; mean age: 70±9 years) and 16 age-matched healthy controls (10 female; mean age: 71±9 years) underwent PCMRI using a 3-Tesla scanner as well as ophthalmological examinations including visual acuity, Goldmann Applanation Tonometry, Humphrey perimetry and fundoscopy. Ophthalmic blood flow was acquired using a 2D PCMRI sequence set to a spatial resolution of 0.35mm/pixel. Mean flow rate and cross-sectional area was calculated using Segment Software. The eye with the most severe glaucomatous damage classified by visual field index (VFI) was chosen for comparison. The primary outcome was blood flow rate of OA.

Results: The mean VFI was 41% ± 26 (mean±SD) for the worse NTG eyes. The intraocular pressure was 13.6±2.6 mmHg for NTG eyes and 13.8±2.1 mmHg for control eyes. The blood flow rate in the NTG group was 9.6±3.7 ml/min compared to 11.8±5.5 ml/min in the control group. The area was 1.7±0.3 mm2 and 2.0±0.6 mm2 respectively. No statistical significance was found between NTG and the control group regarding blood flow rate (p=0.07) or OA area (p=0.12).

Conclusions: Despite OA being an anastomosis between the intracranial and extracranial circulation, possibly generating an eye unrelated variability in blood flow, we found a trend level reduction of approximately 2 ml/min in NTG. The finding warrants blood flow rate analysis of smaller arteries specifically supplying the eye, e.g. the central retinal artery.

Purpose: To study newly diagnosed glaucoma patients given mono‐ or multi‐therapy regarding differences in initial intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction, target IOP levels reached and influence of untreated baseline IOP on IOP reduction.

Methods: Patients newly diagnosed with manifest primary open‐angle glaucoma and included in the Glaucoma Intensive Treatment Study (GITS) were randomized to immediate intensive treatment with any of three different IOP‐lowering substances supplied in two bottles plus 360° laser trabeculoplasty or to conventional stepwise treatment starting with a single‐drug. Intraocular pressure reduction was analysed 1 month after initiation of treatment.

Results: One hundred eighteen patients (143 eyes) received mono‐therapy and 122 patients (152 eyes) multi‐therapy. Median baseline IOP was 24.0 (min: 9.7, max: 56.0) mmHg in mono‐therapy eyes and 24.0 (min: 12.3, max: 48.5) mmHg in multi‐therapy eyes (p = 0.56). After 1 month in the two groups, respectively, values for median IOP reduction were 6.3 (range: −5.3–31.0) and 11.0 (range: 0.7–34.5) mmHg, and for mean relative decline 26.8 (range: −32.0–55.4) and 46.0 (range: 4.6–81.6) % (p = 0.000). A larger proportion of the multi‐therapy patients reached each target IOP level (p = 0.000). The higher the baseline IOP, the larger the observed pressure reduction, considering both absolute and relative figures. The effect was more pronounced in eyes with multi‐therapy than in those with mono‐therapy (p = 0.000). For every mmHg higher IOP at baseline, the IOP was reduced by an additional 0.56 (mono‐therapy) or 0.84 (multi‐therapy) mmHg.

Conclusion: Intensive treatment led to considerably greater IOP reduction than mono‐therapy. Among patients with IOP ≥30 mmHg at diagnosis an IOP of <16 was reached in 2/3 of those with multi‐therapy but in none with mono‐therapy. The IOP reduction was highly dependent on the untreated IOP level.

Purpose of Review: A pressure difference between the intraocular and intracranial compartments at the site of the lamina cribrosa has been hypothesized to have a pathophysiological role in several optic nerve head diseases. This paper reviews the current literature on the translamina cribrosa pressure difference (TLCPD), the associated pressure gradient, and its potential pathophysiological role, as well as the methodology to assess TLCPD.

Recent Findings: For normal-tension glaucoma (NTG), initial studies indicated low intracranial pressure (ICP) while recent findings indicate that a reduced ICP is not mandatory.

Summary: Data from studies on the elevated TLCPD as a pathophysiological factor of NTG are equivocal. From the identification of potential postural effects on the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) communication between the intracranial and retrolaminar space, we hypothesize that the missing link could be a dysfunction of an occlusion mechanism of the optic nerve sheath around the optic nerve. In upright posture, this could cause an elevated TLCPD even with normal ICP and we suggest that this should be investigated as a pathophysiological component in NTG patients.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the intraocular pressure (IOP) - reducing effect of latanoprost in treatment-naïve patients with newly detected open-angle glaucoma with no restriction of the level of untreated IOP.

METHODS: Eighty-six patients (105 eyes) with a diagnosis of open-angle glaucoma received IOP-lowering therapy with latanoprost. The IOP reduction 1 and 3 months after initiation of treatment was recorded.

RESULTS: Mean untreated IOP for all eyes was 26.2 mm Hg (ranging from 10 to 51 mm Hg). The mean pressure reduction was 7.9 mm Hg (28%), with equivalent average levels at 1 and 3 months. The reduction in IOP ranged from -2.3 to 25.3 mm Hg after 1 month, and from -1.3 to 33.3 mm Hg after 3 months. The pressure-lowering effect was considerably more pronounced in eyes with higher untreated IOP; the reduction increased by 0.55 mm Hg per mm Hg higher untreated IOP. Four eyes, with untreated IOP within statistically normal limits, had no or negative IOP-reduction. A regression model predicted that IOP reduction ended at untreated IOP≤16 mm Hg. Multiple regression analysis showed that an additional IOP-lowering effect of 1.28 mm Hg was achieved in eyes with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma.

CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to report the IOP-reducing effect of latanoprost treatment at all untreated IOP levels in newly detected glaucoma patients. The effect was proportional to the untreated IOP at all levels above 16 mm Hg and better at higher untreated IOP levels, also in relative terms. Our results further confirm the indication of latanoprost as a first-line therapy for glaucoma.

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) is caused by an increased pressure difference across the lamina cribrosa (LC) related to a low intracranial pressure (ICP).

DESIGN: Prospective case-control study.

PARTICIPANTS: Thirteen NTG patients (9 women; median 71 [range: 56-83] years) were recruited for investigation with the same protocol as 11 healthy volunteers (8 women; 47 [30-59] years). A larger control group (n = 51; 30 women; 68 [30-81] years) was used only for ICP comparison in supine position.

METHODS: ICP and intraocular pressure (IOP) were simultaneously measured in supine, sitting, and 9° head-down tilt (HDT) positions. Trans-lamina cribrosa pressure difference (TLCPD) was calculated using ICP and IOP together with geometric distances estimated from magnetic resonance imaging to adjust for hydrostatic effects.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ICP, IOP, and TLCPD in different body positions.

RESULTS: Between NTG patients and healthy volunteers, there were no differences in ICP, IOP, or TLCPD in supine, sitting, or HDT (P ≥ 0.11), except for IOP in HDT (P = 0.04). There was no correlation between visual field defect and TLCPD, IOP, or ICP and in any body position (P ≥ 0.39). Mean ICP in supine was 10.3 mmHg (SD = 2.7) in the NTG group (n = 13) and 11.3 (2.2) mmHg in the larger control group (n = 51) (P = 0.24).

CONCLUSIONS: There was no evidence of reduced ICP in NTG patients as compared with healthy controls, either in supine or in upright position. Consequently, the hypothesis that NTG is caused by an elevated TLCPD from low ICP was not supported.

Purpose: The primary objective of the ongoing Glaucoma Intensive Treatment Study (GITS) is to evaluate the effectiveness of immediate intensive treatment in comparison with the commonly recommended stepped regimen on the predicted visual field. The two treatment arms are also being compared regarding quality of life (QoL), intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction, frequency of reported side‐effects, adverse events and adherence to prescribed treatment.

Design: A randomized, two‐centre, prospective open‐labelled treatment trial for open‐angle glaucoma.

Participants: Individuals aged 40–78 years with previously untreated and newly diagnosed glaucoma with early to moderate visual field loss were eligible.

Methods: Patients were randomized to initial treatment either using drug monotherapy in accordance with common glaucoma guidelines or using a more intensive approach including eyedrops containing drugs from three different classes combined with 360° laser trabeculoplasty. The patients are to be followed for 5 years at visits including standard automated perimetry, optical coherence tomography (OPT) and tonometry. Change of treatment is allowed and decided upon jointly with the patient as in conventional glaucoma management.Main outcome: The estimated predicted preserved visual field and QoL at end of expected lifetime.

Results: A total of 242 patients, 45% females, mean age 68 years, were randomized. The median untreated IOP was 24 mm Hg, and the median visual field index (VFI), indicating the percentage of a full field, was 92%.

Conclusion: Glaucoma Intensive Treatment Study is a clinical trial in which two groups of patients randomized to different initial intensities of IOP‐reducing treatment are being compared with regard to rate of visual field progression and prediction of serious glaucomatous visual field loss at estimated at end of life.