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The Optic Disc as the Basis
for Effective Treatment of
Glaucoma
Dr.Rezaul Murshed
M.B.B.S(D.M.C).D.O(D.U)
AHMAD MEDICAL CENTER LTD
71, Dhanmond Residential Area
Road.#15A, Dhaka-1209
Cell: 0171-533357 Res: +880-2-8152761
Optic Disc
- Evaluation of the Optic Nerve is at
- The HEART of the
- Diagnosis and Management
- GLAUCOMA
Optic Nerve Examination
- Why Examine?
- The tissue at issue
- Glaucoma Usually has a Characteristic feature– Cupping
- Can have other associated findings
Disc Hemorrhage
Rim thinning/pallor/or notching
Vascular alterations
Optic Nerve Characteristics
- Disc area ranges from 0.8 mm ² to 6mm²
- Disc area is independent of age beyond about 10 years
- Larger people (men, tall people) probably have larger nerves
- Disc area is certainly larger in myopes, smaller in hyperopes
- Varies by race Black>Hispanic>Asian>White
- Larger discs have larger neuroretinal rim area and more nerve fibers and less “Crowding” of nerve fibers
Optic Nerve Size and Glaucoma
- Larger nerves may be at higher risk for glaucoma
--Black -- NTG has been reported in larger nerves
- Mechanism may be due to more displacement of lamina by IOP
- Smaller nerves may be at higher risk for glaucoma --Fewer axons, so less “reserve” supply --Crowding may make any laminar bowing more likely to cause damage
The Normal Nerve - Neuroretinal Rim Shape
- Disc is vertically oval, cup is horizontally oval
......................--The ISNT rule (Jost Jonas)
......................--Thickest rim Inferiorly>Superiorly> Nasally>Temporally (Thinnest)
......................--Critical to examine in early glaucoma
SIMPLE DRAWING

I:S = 2:1.5, N:T= 2:1
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Neuroretinal Rim Shape and Glaucoma
- Glaucoma causes diffuse damage to the rim with some preferential spots
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--First loss is typically inferotemporal and then superotemporal
--For more advanced disease temporal regions are more thinned
--For very advanced disease typically the nasal rim is the thickest remaining part (superonasal thicker) |
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This loss matches visual field defects
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--Typically affect upper nasal quadrant first
--Then inferior field and so on
--End stage disease often has only a inferior temporal island left (superonasal rim) |
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Why does damage occur in this way?
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--Larger and more laminar pores at the poles might be important
--Laminar bowing is more prominent at the poles
--Axons are more kinked at the disc periphery
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Advance glaucoma
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This school teacher of
45yrs.enjoys 6/4.5R/E& 6/6
L/E.Binoculr Esterman shows 4 adjacent scotoms in the
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Sup. Field & 6 scotomas seen in the lower
Temp. zone. Here out of 120 points, he can see 109 & cannot
See 11 points. When not seen crosses 10>in screening test than full
Threshold test to be done. This is an advance case of POAG R>L.
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DENSE SUP ARCUATE SCOTOMA

DENSE SUP ARCUATE SCOTOMAS
EMANTING FROM THE BLIND SPOT
JOINS THE SUP ARCUATE SCOTOMA
LATER JIONS THE NASAL SUP NASAL
STEP.FIELD MATCHES WITH THIN INF
NRR.A CASE OF ESTABLISHED POAG.
DISC SHOWS NO INFERIOR
NEURO RETINAL RIM |
NORMAL NERVE-NRR SHAPE
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- DISC IS VERTICALLY OVAL V>H
- CUP IS OVAL HORIZONTALLY H>V
- THE ISNT RULE
- THICKEST RIM INFERIORLY>SUPERIORLY>NASALLY >
TEMPORALLY(THINNEST) ISNT
- CRITICAL TO EXAMINE IN EARLY
GLAUCOMA
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Asymmetric
DISC
Tissue between
The cup & disc
is NRR made of
nerve & capillaries
So, looks red to
orange
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NRR
- NRR COLOR IS FROM PINK RED TO
ORANGE
- RIM PALLOR > CUPPING = NEURO DISEASE
- RIM PALLOR & CUPPING = GLAUCOMA
- IF ANY ONE CAN DIAGNOSE THE NRR / NFLD IS THE KEY TO DIAGNOSE OF THE CASE
Cup size and Disc Size
- Large nerves have large cups but normal rims
- Small nerves often have no cup -- Cupping in a small nerve (even a small cup/disc ratio) might be pathologic Look for peripapillary abnormalities too
- Progressive enlargement of the cup is a hallmark of glaucoma
- Really thinning of the rim
- Overall disc gets pale, vessels thin, cup depth increases and cup area increase
- Normal c/d ratio range from 0.0 to 0.9
Optic Nerve Head Cupping is a Unifying Feature of all GLAUCOMAS
Cupping

Enlargement of cup / loss of Neuroretinal Rim
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Disc Examination
- DISC EXAMINATION BY AN EXPERIENCED GLAUCOMA SPECIALIST WAS ACCEPTED AS GOLD STANDARD
OLD IS GOLD

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Optic Nerve Examination Problems
- Variable inter-observer agreement
- Physiological Cupping Variation
- Variable cupping patterns can not be quantified readily by a simple cup/disc ratio
HORIZONTAL C:D 0.4, CUP OCCUPIES 4/10 WIDTH OF DISC
“Armaly”
C:D
0.4
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Problems with Armaly‘s c/d
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Healthy Disc

c/d 0.5
Normal Field
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- Where the cup is located?
- No disc size
- No regards to RIM
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Sick disc

c/d 0.5
Field defect
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Disc Size
Small disc

1.0 mm
c/d 0.2
Disc Size <1.3mm
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Large disc

2.O mm
c/d 0.6
Disc size 2mm
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Here Smaller disc is more damaged
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Determine Thinnest Rim/Disc
Ratio
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Rim Disc/Disc 0.2
Here thinnest rim .2mm & if disc size 1 than Rim/Disc = 0.2
Normal field
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Rim less than <45
Field defect
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Optic Nerve Examination Problems
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Which of these nerves is more likely
Pathologic? |
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The Disc Damage likelihood Damage Scale (DDLS)
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The Disc Damage Likelihood Scale is a method of estimating the amount of damage that has occurred to the optic nerve based on one consideration, specifically, the width of the tissue ( rim ) that is made up of the living nerve fibers that pass from retina, through the optic nerve, back into the brain. Or, if that tissue ( rim ) is absent, the extent of its absence.
Spaeth G & Henderer J
2002 May
The Disc Damage Likelihood Scale (DDLS)
- Use knowledge of disc size (vertical disc diameter) to stage disc damage according to rim thickness
- Nerve diameter usually 1.0-2.0 mm
- Rim/disc ratio
- Ten stage scale
- Based on clinical examination
Comparison of cup/disc and Rim/Disc ratio
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Cup/Disc = 0.1
Rim/Disc = 0.45
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C/Disc = 0.3
Rim/Disc = 0.35
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Cup/Disc = 0.8
Rim/Disc = 0.1
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Cup/Disc = 0.9
Rim/Disc = 0.05
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When disc is arbitrarily
Considered 1
BY SLIT LAMP
- Vertical Slit beam to create rectangle of light
- Beam 1/4 to 1/3 of size of disc diameter wide
- Adjust length of beam to match vertical “height” of the disc
- Example
BAYER is the lead author and
he is the first publication of the scale
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Conversion Chart
Manufacturer
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LENS
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60D |
78D |
90D |
VOLK
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0.88 |
1.11 |
1.33 |
NIKON
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1.03 |
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1.63 |
Lim, et al. J Glaucoma 1996; 5:241 |
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Measuring Disc Diameter
- Read length of light column from the continuous scale on the slit lamp
- Multiply this length by a conversion factor
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–L ens specific
– Manufacturer specific
Example
1.6mm(Vertical length)x1.11(Volk 78)=1.78mm, will be the disc diameter.
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How to determine the rim/disc ratio

So, rim/disc=.35/1.78=0.19
Stage 2
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When damage will occur
- Small disc 1 rim 0.1 r/d=0.1(damage disc)
- Large disc 2 rim 0.2 r/d=0.1(normal disc)
- In small disc damage will occur when r/d <0.2 & in large disc damage will occur r/d<0.1
Theoretical R im Area by Optic Nerve Diameter

Henderer 2000
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Estimation of Disc Pathology by Rim/Disc ratio

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DDLS STAGING
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a is a healthy optic disc, DDLS Stage Oa, rim/disc .4
b is a possible disc damage DDLS Stage 2, rim/disc .25
c is a severely damaged optic disc,stage 7a, no rim
From 9.30 to 5.30
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Staging of DDLS
- Oa—No narrowing of the rim at all
- 3—One area rim is extremly narrow one can barely see it
- 4—Rim less than 1/8 of circumference of entire rim
- 5—One portion of NRR loss
- 7—3/4 of the of the entire rim is lost
The Disc Damage Likelihood Damage Scale
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STAGE
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Narrowest Width of rim
or Circumferential no rim |
0 |
0.3-0.5
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1 |
0.2-0.29 |
2 |
0.1-0.19 |
3 |
0.01-0.1
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4 |
No rim <45 °
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5 |
No rim 45°-90°
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6 |
No rim 91°-180°
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7 |
No rim > 180°
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DDLS Conclusions
- Simple Opthalmoscopic Examination
- Slit Lamp with +78D,+90D
- Simple Disc Drawing with pen, 5 min
- Based on clinical examination
- A quantitative method of assessing optic nerve damage
- Diagnosing, Staging and Monitoring of Glaucoma
DDLS not the Key
- DDLS is not really the key
- Look for disc size
- Focus on the rim all along 360 °
- No CUP any more Recall the ISNT rule
PROVIEW TONOMETER
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