Choroidal thinning may be part of NTG pathogenesis

This study demonstrated that the mean choroidal thickness at 3 mm nasal from the fovea was significantly thinner in eyes with normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) compared with normal subjects. This decrease in choroidal thickness may be associated with progressive visual field loss.

The authors used enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography to measure the choroid at the fovea and 3 mm nasal and temporal from the fovea in 62 normal subjects and 45 NTG patients. They measured visual fields with automated perimetry in the NTG subjects and calculated changes in mean deviation per year - mean deviation slope.

In addition to the difference found in choroidal thickness at 3 mm nasal from the fovea between the normal and NTG subjects, they found a significant correlation between choroidal thickness at this location and the mean deviation slope in NTG eyes (P < 0.001).