[Pallor of the optic papilla--an early sign of glaucoma. A clinical controlled study of optic disk pallor and papillar cupping in glaucoma simplex, ocular hypertension and normal eyes with the optic nerve head analyzer]

Quantitative assessment of optic nerve head pallor

Ischaemia, loss of neural tissue, glial cell activation and tissue remodelling are symptoms of anterior ischaemic as well as glaucomatous optic neuropathy leading to pallor of the optic nerve head. Here, we describe a simple method for the pallor measurement using a fundus camera equipped with a colour CCD camera and a special dual bandpass filter. The reproducibility of the determined mean pallor value was 11.7% (coefficient of variation for repeated measurements in the same subject); the variation over six healthy subjects was 14.8%. A significant difference between the mean pallor of an atrophic disc and that of the contralateral eye of the same individual was found. However, even the clinically unaffected eye showed a significantly increased pallor compared to the mean of the healthy control group. Thus, optic disc pallor measurement, as described here, may be helpful in the early detection and follow-up of optic neuropathy.

A new classification of glaucoma including focal glaucoma

This report suggests a new method of classifying glaucoma based upon the appearance of the optic nerve. One subdivision of this classification, focal glaucoma, is discussed in some detail. As is true for all classifications, the system proposed will not be a permanent one. Nor is it intended to be all inclusive. Its purpose is not to replace the system which at present is based on the mechanism for intraocular pressure elevation, i.e., angle-closure glaucoma, open-angle glaucoma, etc., but rather to provide a means by which various subtypes of glaucoma can be better differentiated.