PMID- 11944846
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20020502
LR  - 20191025
IS  - 0165-5701 (Print)
IS  - 0165-5701 (Linking)
VI  - 23
IP  - 4-6
DP  - 2001
TI  - Scanning laser polarimetry (SLP) for optic nerve head drusen.
PG  - 233-7
AB  - Optic nerve head drusen (ONHD) are either clinically invisible or clearly 
      protruding from the disc, in the later case leading to the condition of an 
      irregular, indistinct disc margin or a swollen disc on biomicroscopy. They also 
      may cause visual field defects, even with slow progression. Scanning laser 
      polarimetry (SLP) has been proposed as a rapid, objective and reproducible 
      technology for retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) assessment and clinical studies 
      have demonstrated that SLP can help to distinguish between normal and 
      glaucomatous eyes, identify glaucoma suspects and correlates well with visual 
      field defects. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential 
      applicability of SLP in 20 consecutive patients with optic nerve head drusen (18 
      bilateral) that were clinically visible (22 eyes) and invisible (16 eyes). RNFL 
      thickness was studied in patients with and without visual field defects. Patients 
      with visual field defects and ONHD were significantly older and had a small, but 
      significant reduction of visual acuity. Some global SLP parameters (average 
      thickness, ellipse average) were significantly different between subjects with 
      normal and abnormal visual fields. The comparison of the groups with visible and 
      invisible drusen showed that there was no difference in demographic or perimetric 
      data. RNFL thickness measurements were also very similar in both groups. Clinical 
      visibility of drusen was not correlated with RNFL thinning as measured with the 
      GDxTM. SLP assessment, however, was well correlated with functional loss. This 
      objective, non-invasive technology may be an additional option for RNFL 
      evaluation in this condition and an especially useful tool for long-term 
      follow-up.
FAU - Mistlberger, A
AU  - Mistlberger A
AD  - Department of Ophthalmology, County Hospital Salzburg, Austria.
FAU - Sitte, S
AU  - Sitte S
FAU - Hommer, A
AU  - Hommer A
FAU - Emesz, M
AU  - Emesz M
FAU - Dengg, S
AU  - Dengg S
FAU - Hitzl, W
AU  - Hitzl W
FAU - Grabner, G
AU  - Grabner G
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - Netherlands
TA  - Int Ophthalmol
JT  - International ophthalmology
JID - 7904294
SB  - IM
MH  - Adolescent
MH  - Adult
MH  - Aged
MH  - Female
MH  - Glaucoma/*diagnosis
MH  - Humans
MH  - Lasers
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Nerve Fibers/*pathology
MH  - Optic Disk Drusen/*diagnosis
MH  - Optic Nerve/*pathology
MH  - Vision Disorders/*diagnosis
MH  - Visual Field Tests/*methods
MH  - *Visual Fields
EDAT- 2002/04/12 10:00
MHDA- 2002/05/03 10:01
CRDT- 2002/04/12 10:00
PHST- 2002/04/12 10:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2002/05/03 10:01 [medline]
PHST- 2002/04/12 10:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1023/a:1014401202762 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Int Ophthalmol. 2001;23(4-6):233-7. doi: 10.1023/a:1014401202762.