AUTHOR=Zhao Yujin , Chen Junyi , Yu Xiaobo , Xu Jianjiang , Sun Xinghuai , Hong Jiaxu 

TITLE=Age-Related Changes in Human Schlemm’s Canal: An in Vivo Optical Coherence Tomography-Based Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2018.00630

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2018.00630

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Purpose:</bold> To investigate age-related changes in human Schlemm’s canal (SC) using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> A total of 125 normal eyes were imaged using SD-OCT nasally and temporally. The age-related variations of SC sagittal diameter and cross-sectional area (CSA) from four age groups [A (16–20 years), B (21–40 years), C (41–60 years), and D (61–80 years)] were analyzed with Spearman correlation.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> The positive detection rates of SC showed a significantly downward trend with age. The mean CSA was 13,296 ± 1,897 μm<sup>2</sup> nasally and 14,552 ± 2,589 μm<sup>2</sup> temporally. The mean CSA was significantly larger in the temporal than in the nasal region (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). Nasal CSA values varied among the four age groups (<italic>P</italic> = 0.004).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Our study found for the first time that SC <italic>in vivo</italic> exhibits a morphological variant with age in healthy humans. Clinicians may need to consider this phenomenon when performing examinations targeting SC for glaucoma patients.</p>