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Intravital Video Microscopy Measurements of Retinal Blood Flow in Mice
Published on: December 26, 2013
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Comparative study of microvascular function: Forearm blood flow versus dynamic retinal vessel analysis.
Holger Schirutschke1, Johannes Kochan1, Kristin Haink2
1Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at the Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging
|September 26, 2020
Summary
Dynamic retinal vessel analysis (DVA) and forearm blood flow (FBF) are not equivalent for assessing microvascular function. FBF detected endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular patients, while DVA did not, highlighting differences in their application.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Research
- Ophthalmology
- Vascular Biology
Background:
- Dynamic retinal vessel analysis (DVA) is emerging for microvascular function assessment.
- Comparative studies with established methods like forearm blood flow (FBF) are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare microvascular function assessment between DVA and FBF in high-risk cardiovascular patients and healthy controls.
- To evaluate the sensitivity of each method in detecting endothelial dysfunction.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 23 high-risk cardiovascular patients and 17 healthy controls.
- Assessed FBF response to postocclusive reactive hyperemia, acetylcholine (endothelium-dependent), and sodium nitroprusside (endothelium-independent) infusions.
- Measured retinal arterial and venous responses using DVA, determining central retinal arterial (CRAE) and venous equivalents (CRVE).
Main Results:
- FBF showed significantly attenuated response in patients during reactive hyperemia (p < .005) and blunted response to acetylcholine (p < .05), indicating endothelial dysfunction.
- No significant differences in FBF response to sodium nitroprusside were found between groups (p = .09).
- DVA detected no significant differences in retinal arterial or venous vasodilation between patients and controls (p > .55).
Conclusions:
- FBF and DVA are not interchangeable for testing microvascular function.
- Discrepancies may stem from differences in vascular beds, vessel sizes, and stimulation methods.
- Further research is required to establish the specific role of DVA in evaluating microvascular health.
