A recent Seoul University study has found a link between how much the lamina cribrosa - a thin, sieve-like portion of sclera at the base of the optic disc through which retinal nerve fibers leave the eye to form the optic nerve - is curved inwards and the progressive loss of visual field.
"The lamina cribrosa is already known as the primary site of pathogenesis in glaucoma," Dr Ahnul Ha, of Seoul National University Hospital’s department of ophthalmology told Ophthalmology Times. Lamina cribrosa deformation can directly block the excimer cells and the disturbed blood supply can accelerate retinal ganglion cell injury, Dr Ha said.
"We found that with greater lamina cribrosa deformation, RGC axons are increasing vulnerable to further glaucomatous injury," he added. "Baseline lamina cribrosa morphology may eventually serve as a prognostic factor in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma."
