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Presentation type	E-poster
Title	Normal tension glaucoma: a dynamic optical coherence tomography angiography study.

Purpose	Vascular dysregulation seems to play a role in the pathogenesis of glaucoma, especially normal tension glaucoma (NTG). The development of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) enabled measurement of the retinal microvasculature with high repeatability. Nonetheless, only a few studies transformed OCT-A into a dynamic exam employing a sympathomimetic stimulus. The goal of this study was to use this dynamic OCT-A exam (1) to differentiate healthy individuals from glaucoma patients and (2) to distinguish glaucoma subcategories, NTG and high-tension primary open angle glaucoma (POAG).
Methods	Retinal vessel density (VD) in NTG patients (n=16), POAG patients (n=12) and healthy controls (n=14) was compared before and during a hand grip test with a hydraulic dynamometer.
Results	At baseline, peripapillary VD was lower in POAG and NTG compared to healthy controls and slightly higher in NTG compared to POAG when corrected for mean arterial pressure (MAP). Peripapillary and macular (superficial and deep) VD differences were found for gender, age and baseline MAP. No change in VD occurred (pre/post stimulus) in any of the groups.
Conclusion	Retinal VD loss in glaucoma patients was confirmed and the necessity to correct for gender, age and especially MAP was proven. Although replication in a larger population is necessitated, OCT-A might not be the most suitable method to dynamically evaluate the retinal microvasculature.
Conflict of interest	No
Details of conflicting interests	NA

Authors 1

Last name	VAN EIJGEN
Initials	J
Department	UZ Leuven / KU Leuven
City	Leuven

Authors 2

Last name	Heintz
Initials	A
Department	UZ Leuven / KU Leuven
City	Leuven

Authors 3

Last name	Van der Pluijm
Initials	C
Department	UZ Leuven / KU Leuven
City	Leuven

Authors 4

Last name	Delporte
Initials	K
Department	KU Leuven
City	Leuven

Authors 5

Last name	De Witte
Initials	D
Department	KU leuven
City	Leuven

Authors 6

Last name	Molenberghs
Initials	G
Department	KU Leuven
City	Leuven

Authors 7

Last name	Barbosa-Breda
Initials	J
Department	University of Porto
City	Porto

Authors 8

Last name	Stalmans
Initials	I
Department	UZ Leuven / KU Leuven
City	Leuven