Journal article
Serotonin-Induced Constriction of Ocular Arteries in Atherosclerotic Monkeys: Implications for Ischemic Disorders of the Retina and Optic Nerve Head
Archives of ophthalmology (1960), Vol.115(2), pp.220-228
02/01/1997
DOI: 10.1001/archopht.1997.01100150222012
PMID: 9046257
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Ischemic disorders of the retina and optic nerve head, which constitute a common cause of visual loss, are usually seen in patients with atherosclerosis. OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that serotonin, which is released when platelets aggregate, may produce vasospasm in atherosclerotic monkeys and, thus, may contribute to the ischemic disorders and that short-term dietary treatment of atherosclerosis causes the propensity to vasospasm to subside. METHODS: We studied the response of retinal and posterior ciliary circulation to serotonin in 18 atherosclerotic (25 eyes) and 5 normal (8 eyes) cynomolgus monkeys. The eyes were evaluated by color fundus photography and fluorescein fundus angiography. The eyes were examined under basal conditions and, at a different time, during the intravenous infusion of serotonin. In 6 of the 18 atherosclerotic animals, the evaluation was repeated 5 to 12 months after discontinuing the atherogenic diet (ie, the regression group). RESULTS: Serotonin had no effect in normal monkeys. In 18 atherosclerotic monkeys, serotonin produced transient occlusion or delayed filling of the central retinal artery and/or posterior ciliary artery (PCA) in 9 eyes of 9 animals, involving the central retinal artery in 5, lateral PCA in 8, and medial PCA in 5, in various combinations. In 6 animals (6 eyes) of the regression group, the vasoconstrictor effect of serotonin was abolished completely, except in the medial PCA in 1 eye. CONCLUSIONS: Serotonin, in the presence of atherosclerotic lesions, can cause transient, complete occlusion or impaired blood flow in the central retinal artery and/or PCA. We speculate that this mechanism may play a role in the development of ischemic disorders of the retina and optic nerve head. Discontinuing the atherogenic diet abolished or markedly improved the serotonin-induced vasoconstriction within a few months.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Serotonin-Induced Constriction of Ocular Arteries in Atherosclerotic Monkeys: Implications for Ischemic Disorders of the Retina and Optic Nerve Head
- Creators
- Sohan Singh HayrehDonald J PiegorsDonald D Heistad
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Archives of ophthalmology (1960), Vol.115(2), pp.220-228
- DOI
- 10.1001/archopht.1997.01100150222012
- PMID
- 9046257
- NLM abbreviation
- Arch Ophthalmol
- ISSN
- 0003-9950
- eISSN
- 1538-3601
- Publisher
- American Medical Association
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 02/01/1997
- Academic Unit
- Cardiovascular Medicine; Neuroscience and Pharmacology; Internal Medicine; Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
- Record Identifier
- 9984040432902771
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