Eyeworld

EW GLAUCOMA 31 Possible estrogen connec- tion to POAG considered A ge of menstrual onset and prolonged use of oral con- traceptives are two factors that may influence the development of primary open-angle glaucoma, according to Louis R. Pasquale, M.D., director, Glaucoma Service, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston. Re- cent results e-published in the Feb- ruary issue of Eye indicate that reproductive factors such as these can play a role in the primary open- angle glaucoma (POAG) disease process. The study was an outgrowth of earlier work. "We previously evalu- ated the relationship between repro- ductive aging and primary open- angle glaucoma," Dr. Pasquale said. "We found that older age at menopause was associated with a re- duced risk of POAG." In this earlier study, investigators also found that postmenopausal hormone use was associated with a reduced risk of high tension POAG. Specifically, in- vestigators determined that there was a history of intraocular pressure greater than 21 mm Hg at the time of diagnosis. Assessing reproductive attributes Investigators wanted to take a closer look at other potential connections. "We were interested in whether there were associations between other attributes of female reproduc- tive health and POAG," Dr. Pasquale said. Those included in the study were all members of the Nurses' Health Study, which ran from 1980- 2006. "The participants are part of a cohort of registered nurses from throughout the United States," Dr. Pasquale said. Nurses' Health Study partici- pants completed questionnaires about their reproductive health every 2 years starting in 1980. They subsequently reported on any dis- eases they developed including glau- coma. "We retrieved medical records on self-reported cases to confirm they met our definition of POAG," Dr. Pasquale said. "We then per- formed statistical analyses to assess the relation between female repro- ductive attributes and risk of POAG." After sifting through the data, investigators made some new deter- minations on the possible reproduc- tive connection to glaucoma. "We found that compared to women with an age at menarche of less than 12 years, women with an age at menarche greater than 13 years had an increased risk of the normal ten- sion variant of POAG," Dr. Pasquale February 2011 May 2011 by Maxine Lipner Senior EyeWorld Contributing Editor Reproductive factors linked to primary open-angle glaucoma Unless you are able to determine the smallest aberration in the lens and the cornea you will always risk having unhappy patients. It is essential that your diagnostic equipment can measure these important parameters. In 20 seconds you could know: • The Angle Kappa • The Spherical Aberration of the Cornea • Which aspheric IOL to select • Corneal Astigmatism • If Toric IOL is at proper axis • Photopic/ Mesopic pupil sizes Truly achieve 20/happy with the Marco OPD-Scan III. Call today for your free practice consultation and product demonstration. OPD-Scan III A: Q: When implanting multifocals and achieving 20/20 distance, J1 near, why do I have some unhappy patients? Angle Kappa Post-Op Toric IOL w w w. m a rc o . c o m | e m a i l : i n f o @ m a rc o . c o m | 8 0 0 . 8 7 4 . 5 2 7 4 Manufactured by Nidek Connect with Marco on Facebook continued on page 32 30-33 Glaucoma_EW May 2011-DL_Layout 1 5/2/11 2:08 PM Page 31

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