[Neuroretinal rim in eyes with simple optic atrophy].

In comparison with normal eyes, eyes affected by glaucomatous optic nerve damage are characterized by a decreased neuroretinal rim area and an increased optic cup size. This study was performed to find whether eyes with nonglaucomatous optic nerve atrophy and normal eyes differ with respect to the neuroretinal rim. In all, 143 eyes with nonglaucomatous descending optic nerve atrophy and 563 normal eyes were biomorphometrically examined. The area and form of the neuroretinal rim and optic cup and the horizontal and vertical cup-to-disc ratios did not differ significantly between the two groups. These results are in part not supported by data in the literature. If they are confirmed by further studies, they will indicate that measurement of the neuroretinal rim and estimation of the cup-to-disc ratios will not be useful for the diagnosis of damage to the descending nonglaucomatous optic nerve. It will be helpful for the differentiation of eyes with glaucomatous and nonglaucomatous optic nerve atrophy.