Page 118 - The Indian Optician Digital Edition November-December 2021

AXIAL LENGTH AND
PERIPAPILLARY RNFL
THICKNESS CHANGES IN
MYOPES
Tprocess of eye growth that leads to emmetropia. It is
PRIYA BAVARVA
M. Optometry student at Hari Jyot
College of Optometry, Navsari
| NOV-DEC 2021 | 114 CLINICAL
he human eye develops anatomically and physiologically
from birth to early childhood. Emmetropisation is the
a natural part of the eye's development. Typically, infants
are hypermetropic and subsequently go through a myopic
transition to become emmetropic. If an issue arises during the
emmetropisation process, it may result in a refractive error.
Myopia is one of the three forms of refractive error, and it
is growing at an alarming rate throughout the world. It is the
most common reason for vision loss. In 2010, it was estimated
that myopia and high myopia affected 27% (1893 million) and
2.8% (170 million) of the global population, respectively. By
2050, these figures are expected to grow to 52% (4949 million)
and 10% (925 million) respectively. 1
In myopic patients, the axial length is longer so there
are chances of retinal thinning and optic disc changes.
According to numerous studies, myopia is also a risk factor
for open-angle glaucoma. Myopia-related optic nerve and
retinal abnormalities may make it difficult to distinguish
glaucomatous optic neuropathy thus complicating both
diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma. The diagnosis of
glaucoma is based on the presence of progressive optic nerve
injury that manifests as a visual field defect and thinning
of the peripapillary nerve fibre layer. Diagnosing glaucoma
in the presence of optic nerve and retinal characteristics of
moderate or high myopia is a unique challenge. 2
An important approach to detecting early structural
changes in glaucoma is based on the assessment of the
retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL). Although RNFL thinning is
indicative of glaucomatous damage, it remains uncertain
whether RNFL thickness would vary with the refractive