Vascular and glial changes of the retrolaminar optic nerve were studied in monkey eyes with increased intraocular pressure (IOP) from 1 to 4 years and with different stages of optic nerve atrophy. In histological cross-sections of retrolaminar optic nerves of 11 rhesus and 6 cynomolgus monkeys the entire area, number of axons and vessels and area of pial septa were quantitated and three different kinds of nerve degeneration classified. Ultrathin sections of these different stages were performed and the number of open and occluded vessels was determined. In addition, in cynomolgus monkey optic nerves immunohistochemical staining for alphaB-crystallin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin was performed. Even in animals with the same duration of glaucoma and comparable mean IOP values the axon degeneration varied considerably. Independently of axon loss the number of capillaries in the rhesus monkeys remained constant, whereas there was a slight decrease in the cynomolgus monkeys. Some of the vessels, especially in the most severely damaged regions, were occluded. The density of glial cells increased whereas the total number remained nearly constant. In control sections all astrocytes stained for GFAP and alphaB-crystallin. In the glaucomatous optic nerves the density of alphaB-crystallin- and GFAP-positive cells was significantly increased. The vascular reaction in the retrolaminar glaucomatous optic nerves differs from that described in the prelaminar region. We assume that in the postlaminar region in areas with diminished nutritional needs vessels occlude and finally degenerate.
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