Total antioxidant level is correlated with intra-ocular pressure in patients with primary angle closure glaucoma.

Background: To evaluate total antioxidant status (TAS) in the plasma of primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) patients and to compare it to that of the control group. Additionally, we aim to investigate the association of various PACG clinical indices with TAS level.
Methods: Plasma samples were obtained from 139 PACG patients and 149 glaucoma-free controls of matching age, sex, and ethnicity. TAS in all samples was determined by spectrophotometric and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods. We studied the possible association of the TAS level with various clinical indices relevant to PACG.
Results: The mean (±SD) total antioxidant (TAS) value was almost similar in patients 1 (±0.22) compared to controls 0.97 (±0.43); p = 0.345. Among cases, mean TAS concentration showed a statistically significant lower pattern among subjects with glaucoma onset at the age of ≤ 50 years (p = 0.037) and female subjects (p = 0.014) as well as having a family history of glaucoma (p = 0.010). Interestingly, a statistically significant inverse correlation was detected between TAS concentration and intra ocular pressure (IOP), (R = -0.14, p = 0.037).
Conclusions: The inverse correlation of TAS level with IOP, highlights TAS potential role as a predictive-marker for PACG-severity.