Evaluation of the segmented inner retinal layers in exfoliation glaucoma

Purpose To investigate the macular spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) measurements of the segmented inner retinal layers in patients with exfoliation syndrome (XFS), exfoliation glaucoma (XFG). Methods This prospective cross-sectional study included 28 eyes with XFS, 47 eyes with XFG, and 29 healthy controls. Thickness of the inner retinal layers, including retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL), and inner plexiform layer (IPL) was obtained from the horizontal SD-OCT scans. Functional correlation of structural parameters was analyzed using the mean sensitivity (MS) values on 10-2 visual fields. Results The RNFL, GCL, and IPL were thinnest in eyes with XFG. Among these retinal layers, IPL was significantly thinner in eyes with XFS than healthy controls (p = 0.02) and the IPL thickness was significantly correlated with the corresponding MS scores on 10-2 visual fields (r = 0.492, p = 0.02) in eyes with XFS. Neither GCL nor RNFL thickness values demonstrated significant correlations with functional parameters in eyes with XFS (r = 0.377, p = 0.08; r = 0.212, p = 0.34). In eyes with XFG, the IPL thickness correlated with the visual field MS scores (r = 0.572, p = 0.0007), similar to the correlation of GCL (r = 0.585, p = 0.0005) thickness with visual field scores. Conclusions Segmented analysis of the macular IPL thickness presented a significant correlation with the 10-2 visual field scores not only in eyes with XFG but also in eyes with XFS. With respect to early dendritic/synaptic alterations in animal models, larger and longitudinal studies are encouraged to determine the predictive value of the IPL thickness for conversion of XFS to XFG.