Disorders of perfusion of the anterior segment of the eye

Background: We have investigated the vascular perfusion of a wide variety of conditions of the anterior segment using fluorescein angiography.
Methods: The conditions were classified and findings reported according to the system set out below. Patients underwent full ocular examination. Fluorescein angiography of the anterior segment was carried out when indicated to investigate iris atrophy and neovascularisation. Specular microscopy of the corneal endothelium was used to detect changes in this tissue.
Results: The hypoperfusion was variable in degree and accompanied by varying degrees of iris hypoplasia and atrophy with neovascularisation. The degree of neovascularisation depended upon its rapidity of development, the pre-existing state of vascular perfusion and the underlying pathological condition.
Conclusions: Hypoperfusion with resultant ischaemia and neovascularisation is common in conditions of the anterior segment. An understanding of the changes is valuable in treating many conditions affecting the anterior segment. The changes observed may also occur elsewhere in the physical system and may be a significant part of the ageing process, either as scattered, disparate processes or as part of a general disease process.     

Cerebral vasoconstriction in comatose patients resuscitated from a cardiac arrest?

Objective To determine the role of cerebral vasoconstriction in the delayed hypoperfusion phase in comatose patients after cardiac arrest.Design Prospective study.Setting Medical intensive care unit in a university hospital.Patients 10 comatose patients (Glasgow Coma Score 6) successfully resuscitated from a cardiac arrest occurring outside the hospital.Measurements We measured the pulsatility index (PI) and mean blood flow velocity (MFV) of the middle cerebral artery, the cerebral oxygen extraction ratio and jugular bulb levels of endothelin, nitrate, and cGMP during the first 24 h after cardiac arrest.Results The PI decreased significantly from 1.86±1.02 to 1.05±0.22 (p=0.03). The MFV increased significantly from 29±10 to 62±25 cm/s (p=0.003). Cerebral oxygen extraction ratio decreased also from 0.39±0.13 to 0.24±0.11 (p=0.015). Endothelin levels were high but did not change during the study period. Nitrate levels varied widely and showed a slight but significant decrease from 37.1 mol/l (median; 25th–75th percentiles: 26.8–61.6) to 31.3 mol/l (22.1–39.6) (p=0.04). Cyclic guanosine monophosphate levels increased significantly from 2.95 nmol/l (median; 25th–75th percentiles: 2.48–5.43) to 7.5 nmol/l (6.2–14.0) (p=0.02).Conclusions We found evidence of increased cerebrovascular resistance during the first 24 h after cardiac arrest with persistent high endothelin levels, gradually decreasing nitrate levels, and gradually increasing cGMP levels. This suggests that active cerebral vasoconstriction due to an imbalance between local vasodilators and vasoconstrictors plays a role in the delayed hypoperfusion phase.     

Parieto-occipital hypoperfusion in late whiplash syndrome: first quantitative SPET study using technetium-99m bicisate (ECD)

Brain single-photon emission tomography (SPET) withN,N-1,2-ethylene-diylbis-l-cysteine diethyl ester dihydrochloride (ECD) was performed on ten patients with a clinically high grade late whiplash syndrome and on 11 controls. Two independent readers blinded to the clinical diagnosis were able to separate the ten patients from normal controls. All these patients had qualitative bilateral parieto-occipital hypoperfusion. To confirm this, the perfusion rate of parieto-occipital over global (perfusion index) was calculated after drawing elliptical regions of interest in transversal-oblique slices. The perfusion indices in patients were significantly lower than in controls as tested by the Mann-WhitneyU test. This quantitative study proves our recent qualitatively analysed observation (Lancet 1995; 345: 1513–1514).     

Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion: loss of pupillary reflex, visual impairment and retinal neurodegeneration

Adult rats underwent permanent bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries (2VO) to determine the effect of chronic cerebral ischemia on vision and retina. They were monitored post-surgically for the presence of the pupillary reflex to light. Some rats were tested for 6 months post-surgically on a radial arm maze task and then tested in another water-escape task which explicitly tested visual function. Another group of rats were tested post-surgically for 3 months on a task which simultaneously assessed visual and tactile discrimination ability. The thicknesses of the retinal sub-layers were then measured for some rats. Fourteen of the 25 rats that underwent 2VO lost the pupillary reflex. This seemed to occur within 5 days. Rats that lost the pupillary reflex but not rats whose reflex was intact, were impaired on all visually guided mazes. Tactile discrimination ability was unaffected. Only rats that lost the pupillary reflex showed reduced thickness of the retinal outer nuclear and plexiform layers, reduced cell density in the retinal ganglion cell layer and astrocytosis and degeneration of the optic tract. We conclude that 2VO can eliminate the pupillary reflex. Photoreceptors and retinal ganglion cells degenerate, but it is unclear if these are the cause(s) or result(s) of the loss of the pupillary reflex. These effects are accompanied by impairment of visually guided behavior. The possibility that visual system damage may also occur in acute ischemia merits further investigation.     

丁基苯酞对慢性脑缺血大鼠海马区NO表达的影响

目的研究丁基苯肽对慢性脑缺血大鼠海马区一氧化氮（NO）表达的影响。方法 80只大鼠随机分为假手术组、模型组、预处理组、处理组。根据硝酸还原酶法和β-NADPH组织化学染色法,又将每个小组分为两个亚组。模型组、预处理组和处理组利用双侧颈总动脉永久结扎术制备动物模型,假手术组不结扎双侧颈总动脉。预处理组在造模前及造模后均给予丁基苯酞,处理组在造模后给予丁基苯酞,假手术组和模型组在造模后给予同等剂量的生理盐水,4组分别在造模后1个月处死大鼠取材。用硝酸还原酶特异性还原NO产物的方法测定大鼠前脑缺血模型中海马NO释放量的异常变化。β-NAD-PH组织化学染色显示一氧化氮合酶（NOS）阳性神经元,光镜下观察。结果模型组、预处理组及处理组海马区NO、NOS阳性神经元数目与假手术组相比均有明显增加。与模型组相比,预处理组和处理组海马区NO、NOS阳性神经元数目减少。与处理组相比,预处理组海马区NO、NOS阳性神经元数目减少更明显。结论慢性脑缺血缺氧能使大鼠海马区NO含量明显增加,丁基苯肽（NBP）能减轻这种变化。     

Recovery of cortical functioning in abstinent alcohol-dependent patients: Prefrontal brain oxygenation during verbal fluency at different phases during withdrawal

Abstract

Objectives. Neurotoxic effects of alcohol consumption are well-known. There is plenty of literature on frontal lobe impairment on the behavioural and structural brain imaging level. However, only few functional imaging studies investigated altered neural patterns and even less abstinence-related neural recovery. Methods. In a cross-sectional design three patient groups (acute withdrawal, detoxified, abstinent) and healthy controls (each n = 20) performed a phonological and semantic verbal fluency task (VFT) while brain activity was measured with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Results. First, for the phonological condition withdrawal patients and detoxified patients showed less fluency-related frontal lobe activation compared to controls despite equal performance. Second, significant linear trend effects from withdrawal patients over detoxified and abstinent patients up to healthy controls indicated more normal activation patterns in the abstinent group that did not differ significantly from the controls. In the detoxified group brain activation increased with time since detoxification. Conclusions. Our results are compatible with an increase in frontal brain activity from alcohol dependence over abstinence up to normal functioning. However, as cross-sectional designs do not allow to assess causal relations, results have to be considered preliminary and longitudinal studies are needed to further elucidate recovery processes in alcohol dependence.     

依达拉奉对慢性缺血致血管性痴呆大鼠行为学及形态学的影响

目的观察依达拉奉对慢性缺血致血管性痴呆(VD)大鼠行为学及形态学的影响,探讨依达拉奉在治疗VD中的应用价值。方法实验分假手术组、模型组及都可喜对照组及依达拉奉治疗组,应用双侧颈总动脉结扎方法制备慢性脑缺血大鼠痴呆模型,观察各组大鼠的记忆功能及脑组织超微结构改变。结果缺血组水迷宫表现同对照组、都可喜组及依达拉奉组相比有显著差异(P<0.05),依达拉奉组与都可喜组相比未见显著差异。同时电镜观察结果也发现依达拉奉组及都可喜组与模型组及假手术组相比神经细胞病理改变较轻,且依达拉奉组线粒体及前膜突触小泡增多,代谢活动较都可喜组旺盛。结论依达拉奉可能通过减轻海马神经元的损伤来改善慢性脑缺血大鼠空间学习记忆障碍,证明依达拉奉对慢性缺血致VD大鼠具有治疗作用。     

慢性脑低灌注大鼠海马Arc低表达与其认知功能障碍的相关性研究

目的 探讨慢性脑低灌注大鼠海马活性调节的细胞骨架相关蛋白(activity-regulated cytoskeletal-associated protein,Arc)的低表达与其认知功能障碍的相关性。方法 大鼠慢性脑低灌注模型使用持久性双颈总动脉结扎术(2-vessel occlusion,2-VO); 大鼠随机分成假手术组和2-VO组,每组各6只。术后第8周行Morris水迷宫评价其认知功能; 实时定量聚合酶链式反应(Real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction,RT-qPCR)及蛋白免疫印迹法检测大鼠海马Arc mRNA及蛋白表达水平。结果(1)2-VO组大鼠第2～5 d的逃逸潜伏期比假手术组明显延长(P<0.01)及其在原平台区域游泳时间明显比假手术组短(P<0.01);(2)2-VO组大鼠海马Arc mRNA水平及免疫反应条带相对灰度值分别比假手术组明显降低(P均<0.01);(3)空间探索实验中2-VO大鼠在原平台区域游泳时间与海马Arc免疫反应条带相对灰度值呈正相关(r=0.7085,P<0.05)。结论 慢性脑低灌注大鼠的认知功能障碍可能与海马Arc的低表达相关。     

Effects of mild chronic cerebral hypoperfusion and early amyloid pathology on spatial learning and the cellular innate immune response in mice

Understanding the contribution of cerebrovascular factors in the progression of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a key step for the development of preventive therapies. Among these factors, chronic cerebral hypoperfusion is an early component of AD pathogenesis that can predict the progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD. Here, we investigated the effects of a protocol of mild chronic cerebral hypoperfusion in the APPswe/PS1 transgenic mouse model of AD. We observed that the permanent occlusion of the right common carotid artery induced spatial learning impairments in young APPswe/PS1 mice, but not in their wild type littermates. Furthermore, the extent of learning deficits strongly correlated with the number of cortical β-amyloid plaques, with the mobilization of monocytes into the blood and with the number of bone marrow-derived microglia in the brain. These results indicate that a mild reduction of cerebral blood flow can selectively induce cognitive deficits at an early stage of amyloid pathology, eliciting a cellular innate immune response, even without causing neuronal death.     

DSC perfusion-based collateral imaging and quantitative T2 mapping to assess regional recruitment of leptomeningeal collaterals and microstructural cortical tissue damage in unilateral steno-occlusive vasculopathy

Leptomeningeal collateral supply is considered pivotal in steno-occlusive vasculopathy to prevent chronic microstructural ischaemic tissue damage. The aim of this study was to assess the alleged protective role of leptomeningeal collaterals in patients with unilateral high-grade steno-occlusive vasculopathy using quantitative (q)T2 mapping and perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI)-based collateral abundance. High-resolution qT2 was used to estimate microstructural damage of the segmented normal-appearing cortex. Volumetric abundance of collaterals was assessed based on PWI source data. The ratio relative cerebral blood flow/relative cerebral blood volume (rCBF/rCBV) as a surrogate of relative cerebral perfusion pressure (rCPP) was used to investigate the intravascular hemodynamic competency of pial collateral vessels and the hemodynamic state of brain parenchyma. Within the dependent vascular territory with increased cortical qT2 values (P = 0.0001) compared to the contralateral side, parenchymal rCPP was decreased (P = 0.0001) and correlated negatively with increase of qT2 (P  < 0.05). Furthermore, volumetric abundance of adjacent leptomeningeal collaterals was significantly increased (P < 0.01) and negatively correlated with changes of parenchymal rCPP (P = 0.01). Microstructural cortical damage is closely related to restrictions of antegrade blood flow despite increased pial collateral vessel abundance. Therefore, increased leptomeningeal collateral supply cannot necessarily be regarded as a sign of effective compensation in patients with high-grade steno-occlusive vasculopathy.