In this paper, psychophysical contrast sensitivity was assessed as a potential tool to detect early visual deficits due to primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

Through a cross-sectional study, we evaluated the foveal and peripheral contrast sensitivity in patients with a high risk of developing POAG, the suspected POAG.

We found that contrast sensitivity is reduced in the suspected POAG group compared with healthy subjects, suggesting that retinal sensitivity is impaired before significant structural damage and visual field perimetry deficits. In addition, contrast sensitivity was lower in patients with early-stage POAG than in the group with suspected POAG, indicating that sensitivity loss increases as the disease progresses even in the early stages. Although this contrast sensitivity test did not reach an excellent diagnostic accuracy, our findings evidence a spatial vision loss before the onset of POAG and highlight the importance of developing further work for spatial vision testing tools.

The manuscript has been published in the journal Brain Sciences and it can be accessed here