Research Article
Correlation of Papillomacular Nerve Fiber Bundle Thickness
with Central Visual Function in Open-Angle Glaucoma
Wataru Kobayashi,
1
Hiroshi Kunikata,
1,2
Kazuko Omodaka,
1
Kyousuke Togashi,
3
Morin Ryu,
1
Masahiro Akiba,
4
Gaku Takeuchi,
4
Tetsuya Yuasa,
3
and Toru Nakazawa
1,2,5
1
Department of Ophthalmology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku,
Sendai 980-8574, Japan
2
Department of Retinal Disease Control, Ophthalmology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi,
Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan
3
Department of Bio-Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering/Graduate School of Science and Engineering,
Yamagata University, 4-3-16 Jonan, Yonezawa-shi, Yamagata 992-8510, Japan
4
Topcon Corporation, 75-1 Hasunuma-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 174-8580, Japan
5
Department of Advanced Ophthalmic Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku,
Sendai 980-8574, Japan
Correspondence should be addressed to Toru Nakazawa; ntoru@oph.med.tohoku.ac.jp
Received 25 December 2014; Accepted 14 February 2015
Academic Editor: Van C. Lansingh
Copyright © 2015 Wataru Kobayashi et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
Purpose. To determine the correlation of reduced retinal thickness in the central papillomacular bundle (CPB) to central visual
function, including central retinal sensitivity and visual acuity, in glaucoma patients. Methods. his study enrolled 50 eyes of
50 patients with open-angle glaucoma who were carefully screened for comorbid conditions that can cause decreased central
visual function, such as cataracts or macular diseases. We used a novel CPB analysis comprising a program for optical coherence
tomography that measured RNFL thickness and GCC thickness in the CPB and divided lengthwise into three parts (upper, middle,
and lower CPB). he relationship of these parameters, including conventional macular thickness, to visual ield sensitivity in four
central standard automated perimetry points (the central four thresholds) and BCVA was analyzed. Results. he two parameters
most highly correlated with central four thresholds were macular GCCT and macular RNFLT. he two parameters most highly
correlated with BCVA were middle CPB (mid-CPB) GCCT and mid-CPB RNFLT. A multiple regression analysis revealed that
mid-CPB GCCT was an independent factor impacting central retinal thresholds and BCVA. Conclusions. Our results suggest that
mid-CPB RNFLT and GCCT, parameters of a novel papillomacular bundle analysis, are candidate biomarkers of decreased central
visual function in glaucomatous eyes.
1. Introduction
Glaucoma afects over 70 million people worldwide and is
currently the second most common cause of blindness [1, 2].
It is characterized by reduction of the retinal ganglion cell
layer (GCL) and loss of the axons comprising the retinal
nerve iber layer (RNFL) [3]. he incidence of glaucoma
increases with age [4], and glaucoma-induced visual disorder
is becoming an increasingly serious problem in an aging
society. A major risk factor for glaucoma is high intraocular
pressure (IOP), and treatment to lower IOP is commonly
recommended to patients with glaucoma [5, 6].
Macular functions, including visual acuity (VA) and
retinal sensitivity, are very important for quality of life even in
patients with glaucoma [7]. hough VA is generally preserved
until the late stages of glaucoma [8], cases have also been
reported of patients whose VA decreased even in the early
stages of the disease [9, 10]. Recently, spectral domain opti-
cal coherence tomography (SD-OCT) technology has been
introduced, which enables us to visualize and quantify each
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Journal of Ophthalmology
Volume 2015, Article ID 460918, 6 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/460918