Trabecular Meshwork Height in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Versus Primary Angle-Closure Glaucoma.

Purpose: To determine if trabecular meshwork (TM) height differs between primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) eyes.

Design: Prospective, cross-sectional clinical study.

Methods: Adult patients were consecutively recruited from glaucoma clinics at the University of California, San Francisco, from January 2012 to July 2015. Images were obtained from spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (Cirrus OCT; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc, Dublin, California, USA). Univariate and multivariate linear mixed models comparing TM height and glaucoma type were performed to assess the relationship between TM height and glaucoma subtype. Mixed-effects regression was used to adjust for the use of both eyes in some subjects.

Results: The study included 260 eyes from 161 subjects, composed of 61 men and 100 women. Mean age was 70 years (SD 11.77). There were 199 eyes (123 patients) in the POAG group and 61 eyes (38 patients) in the PACG group. Mean TM heights in the POAG and PACG groups were 812 ± 13 μm and 732 ± 27 μm, respectively, and the difference was significant in univariate analysis (P = .004) and in multivariate analysis (β = -88.7 [24.05-153.5]; P = .008).

Conclusion: In this clinic-based population, trabecular meshwork height is shorter in PACG patients compared to POAG patients. This finding may provide insight into the pathophysiology of angle closure and provide assistance in future diagnosis, prevention, and management of the angle-closure spectrum of disorders.