Correlation between retinal ganglion layer soma and vascular densities measured with adaptive optics: optical coherence tomography

Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy characterized by loss of retinal ganglion cells and their axons. Glaucoma has a strong vascular component and decreased macular vessel density is known to be associated with glaucomatous damage. Adaptive optics – optical coherence tomography allows for the simultaneous quantification of vascular and ganglion cell densities. We observed a moderately strong correlation between ganglion cell and vessel densities across the macula, as well as some correlation at individual locations. Vascular density may prove to be a useful surrogate biomarker of glaucoma progression and with further study reveal new information on impairment of neurovascular coupling in glaucoma.