Increased concentration of tumour necrosis factor alpha in the plasma of glaucoma patients

Background/Aim. Changes in the concentration of various mediators of inflammation and immune response in blood, aqueous humor, or eye tissues support the theory of inflammation and immune system activity in the pathogenesis of openangle glaucoma. Inflammatory biomarkers have a great potential for application in clinical practice. We investigated the plasma concentrations of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-?) in patients with open-angle glaucoma and controls without glaucoma, and examined a correlation between plasma TNF-? levels in glaucoma patients and their clinical parameters. Methods. The present study included 87 participants (87 eyes) divided into three groups: 35 subjects (35 eyes) with primary open-angle glaucoma with elevated intraocular pressure - hypertension glaucoma (POAG-HTG), 23 subjects (23 eyes) with pseudoexfoliative open-angle glaucoma (XFG), and 29 subjects in the control group matched with the patient groups in terms of age and sex. We performed a complete clinical examination including standard automated perimetry and determination of changes in the participant's repeated visual field, and optical coherence tomography and determination of retinal peripapillary nerve fiber thickness (RNFL). The concentration of circulating TNF-? in participants? plasma was measured using commercial immunoadsorption enzyme tests (ELISA). Results. The concentrations of TNF-? in the plasma of glaucoma patients (POAG-HTG 2.04?1.98 pg/mL and XFG 2.05?1.48 pg/mL) were significantly higher than in healthy subjects (1.43?2.00 pg/mL, p<0.05). No statistically significant correlations of TNF-? concentration with any of the clinical parameters including IOP, C/D, MD, RNFL Avg, RNFL Sup and RNFL Inf were found in any of the groups of patients with glaucoma. Conclusion. The concentration of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, TNF-?, in the plasma is significantly higher in glaucoma patients compared to nonglaucomatous subjects, and confirms the role of the inflammation in the pathogenesis of glaucoma, as one of noninflammatory ocular diseases. The plasma concentration of TNF-? does not correlate with any of the examined clinical parameters; hence, it cannot be considered a measure of progression and damage in glaucoma.