Peripapillary Atrophy in Asymmetric Glaucoma

Peripapillary atrophy is more frequently seen and larger in glaucomatous eyes than in ocular hypertension or normal eyes. There have been numerous debates whether peripapillary atrophy is caused by elevation of intraocular pressure or it is an anatomic variant which is more vulnerable to glaucomatous damage. In this study, we compared the area of peripapillary atrophy of normal and glaucomatous eye in asymmetric glaucoma. The optic nerve head area was 2.65 +/- 0.54mm2 in glaucomatous eyes and 2.59 +/- 0.47mm2 in control eyes(p=0.53). The peripapillary atrophy area was 1.13 +/- 0.86mm2 in glaucomatous eyes and 0.94 +/- 0.81mm2 in control eyes(p=0.35). There was no significant difference in peripapillary atrophy area or optic nerve head area between glaucomatous eyes and normal eyes. Our results suggest that peripapillary atrophy may not be caused by the intraocular pressure elevation.

Mesectodermal Leiomyoma of the Ciliary Body

A 12-year-old girl presented with a ciliary body mass that measured approximately 13 X 10 mm in size. The tumor was excised through cyclectomy. The light microscopic apprearance resembled neurogenic neoplasm such as neurofibroma or schwannoma. However, some tumor cells included fasciculus which is a characteristic feature of myogenic tumor. Immunohistochemistry assay and electron microscopic examination revealed smooth muscle nature including myofilaments with dense bodies and established the diagnosis as mesectodermal leiomyoma in the ciliary body. To our best knowledge, our patient is the youngest among the ciliary body leiomyoma cases ever reported.