Studying the role of the choroid and lens in the development of primary anterior chamber angle closure

PURPOSE. To study the role of the choroid and lens in the development of primary anterior chamber angle closure.MATERIAL AND METHODS. The study included 90 patients aged 47 to 80 years (30 with primary angle closure (PAC), 30 with suspected primary angle closure (PACs), and 30 in the control group) who underwent swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). The following parameters were analyzed: subfoveolar choroidal thickness (SFCT), intraocular pressure (IOP), axial length (AL), anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens vault (LV), iris curvature (ICurv) and iris thickness (IT750), angle opening distance (AOD500, AOD750), and trabecular-iris space area (TISA500, TISA750).RESULTS. SFCT in PAC (341±59 µm) and PACs (340±51 µm) was higher than in the control group (257.0±37.0 µm, p<0.05). In PAC and PACs, the correlations of SFCT with age, AL, LV, ICurv, IT750 were revealed (p<0.05 for each), as well as correlations of LV with age, IOP, ACD, ICurv, IT750, AOD500, AOD750, TISA500, TISA750 were found (p<0.05 for each). The correlation of SFCT with IOP was determined only in PAC (p=-0.476; p=0.008).CONCLUSION. The increase in the choroidal thickness in macula in both PACs and PAC compared with the controls, as well as the correlations of subfoveolar choroidal thickness with lens vault and iris parameters suggest the involvement of the choroid in the pathogenesis of primary angle closure disease (PACD). The correlations of lens vault with IOP, as well as the parameters of anterior chamber and iris indicate the prevailing role of the lens in the development of PACD and the need for its early replacement.