Objective:
To compare trabecular meshwork height in a series of patients with juvenile primary open-angle glaucoma (JPOAG) with that in normal control patients.
Methods:
Ultrasound biomicroscopy and A-scan biometry were performed on 16 eyes with JPOAG and 24 normal eyes. A radial, perpendicular image in the horizontal temporal meridian detailing the line of Schwalbe, scleral spur, and angle anatomy was obtained for each eye by a single examiner. Trabecular meshwork height was defined as the distance from the scleral spur to the Schwalbe line.
Results:
Mean patient age (P=.85, t test), refractive error (P=.68), sex distribution (P=.26, Fisher exact test) and axial length (P=.39) were similar between the groups. Mean±SE trabecular meshwork heights were 0.36±0.03 mm (range, 0.19-0.53 mm) for JPOAG and 0.58±0.02 mm (range, 0.40-0.80 mm) for controls (P<.001). Eyes with greater axial length tended to have larger trabecular meshworks in both groups (P=.012, multivariate regression). A trabecular meshwork height-axial length ratio of 0.021 or less was associated with a significantly increased risk for JPOAG being present (odds ratio, 57; 95% confidence interval, 6.0-541).
Conclusion:
The trabecular meshwork is smaller in eyes with JPOAG compared with that in normal eyes. This finding suggests a structural abnormality that may underlie the reduced outflow.