Rigidity of Retinal Vessels in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Patients with multiple sclerosis seem to demonstrate an increased rigidity of the retinal vessels. The interocular difference in retinal vessel rigidity was significantly correlated with the interocular difference in RNFL thickness in MS patients.

Rigidity of Retinal Vessel in Untreated Eyes of Normal Tension Primary Open-angle Glaucoma Patients

“…12,16 In each study, a significant difference in rigidity to the matched control group was observed, however, these differences were relatively small. In addition, high variability in the rigidity parameter between individual subjects (coefficient of variation of average pulse delay was 24.2% and 20.3% in the 2 groups) can indicate both the high biologic variability of the retinal rigidity and measurement variability.…”

“…The same model detected increased retinal vascular rigidity in 3 independent cohorts so far: otherwise healthy vasospastic subjects, 12 multiple sclerosis patients 16 (both compared with appropriate control groups), and in healthy subjects during the cold pressor test (compared with the baseline). 12 Biomechanical properties of blood vessels seem to be altered if vasospastic propensity is present.…”

“…Details on the RVA device 14,15 for the examination method 12,16 and on the application of RVA in blood flow research 17 have been published earlier. Briefly, this device is essentially a fundus camera attached to a computer and a video recorder that enables online and offline measurements of retinal vessel diameters in a preselected vessel segment with high precision and reproducibility.…”

Impaired retinal microcirculation in multiple sclerosis

“…10 The vasculature in the eye and brain are anatomically and physiologically similar. 11 Aside from the common occurrence of retinal periphlebitis, 12 and increased retinal vessel rigidity suggesting vascular dysregulation, 13 there is a lack of information to support the hypothesis that retinal microcirculation alteration exists in MS. The goal of the present study was to characterize the retinal microcirculation in patients with MS by directly measuring the blood flow velocity and flow volume in retinal arterioles and venules.…”

Analyse der Venenbewegungen in der Netzhaut von Glaukompatienten

“…Den Pulsationen der retinalen Gefäße ist eine klinische Signifikanz zuzuschreiben, jedoch erweisen sich die pulsatilen Veränderungen der arteriellen und venösen Gefäße in der Pathophysiologie und Interpretation als deutlich unterschiedlich. Die arteriellen Pulsationen und deren Veränderungen hängen in erster Linie von der Rigidität der Gefäße ab [8][9][10]. Die beeinflussenden pathophysiologischen Faktoren und somit die Interpretation der Pulsationen der venösen Gefäße sind, unter anderem mit dem Einfluss des intrakraniellen Druckes, um einiges komplexer [3,11].…”