Quantitative assessment of aqueous flare: the effect of age and pupillary dilation.

Objective: To assess the effect of age and pupillary dilation on aqueous flare.

Methods: In this study, 100 eyes of 100 patients ranging in ages from 23 to 84 years were examined. Anterior chamber flare was measured before and after pupillary dilation using the Kowa laser flare meter (FM-500). Predilation and postdilation flare counts were compared by paired t-test. Stepwise regression analysis was then used to determine the effect of demographic variables on pre- and postdilation flare as well as the difference between pre-and postdilation flare counts.

Results: The predilation and postdilation flare counts correlated with age (P < 0.0001 for both pre-and postdilation flare counts). Correlation coefficient between age and flare measurements was R2 = 0.58 predilation and 0.63 postdilation. Flare intensity significantly decreased after pupillary dilation (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Anterior chamber flare increases with age. It might be related to blood-aqueous barrier instability. Pupillary dilation significantly decreases flare counts suggesting that aqueous protein concentration is dependent on aqueous flow rates.