Author(s): Nowacka Barbara*, Lubiński Wojciech, Honczarenko Krystyna, Potemkowski Andrzej and Safranow Krzysztof
Objective: To determine if patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have an increased risk of glaucoma. Materials and methods: The cross-sectional case-control study. One hundred consecutive patients (196 eyes) with idiopathic PD and a control group consisting of 100 healthy matched for age and sex patients (196 eyes) underwent a complete ophthalmological examination of both eyes, including assessment of slit lamp examination of the eye anterior segment and fundus, intraocular pressure and evaluation of the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness. Participants were also evaluated in terms of perfusion pressures in the eyes. Results: The frequency of glaucoma was higher in eyes of PD patients in comparison to controls (16.33% vs. 6.63%; p=0.004) and intraocular pressure was significantly lower (16.88 ± 3.18 vs. 17.76 ± 3.21 mm Hg; p=0.009). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as calculated perfusion pressures did not differ significantly between PD and control group with exception of higher diastolic perfusion pressure in PD patients’ eyes. The retinal fiber layer thickness did not significantly differ between investigated no-glaucoma groups, but revealed significant reduction in superior and inferior quadrant in glaucoma PD patients. Conclusion: PD patients have increased risk of glaucoma.
