TY  - JOUR
A1  - Conzen, Catharina
A1  - Albanna, Walid
A1  - Weiss, Miriam
A1  - Kürten, David
A1  - Vilser, Walthard
A1  - Kotliar, Konstantin
A1  - Zäske, Charlotte
A1  - Clusmann, Hans
A1  - Schubert, Gerrit Alexander
T1  - Vasoconstriction and Impairment of Neurovascular Coupling after Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: a Descriptive Analysis of Retinal Changes
JF  - Translational Stroke Research
N2  - Impaired cerebral autoregulation and neurovascular coupling (NVC) contribute to delayed cerebral ischemia after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Retinal vessel analysis (RVA) allows non-invasive assessment of vessel dimension and NVC hereby demonstrating a predictive value in the context of various neurovascular diseases. Using RVA as a translational approach, we aimed to assess the retinal vessels in patients with SAH. RVA was performed prospectively in 24 patients with acute SAH (group A: day 5–14), in 11 patients 3 months after ictus (group B: day 90 ± 35), and in 35 age-matched healthy controls (group C). Data was acquired using a Retinal Vessel Analyzer (Imedos Systems UG, Jena) for examination of retinal vessel dimension and NVC using flicker-light excitation. Diameter of retinal vessels—central retinal arteriolar and venular equivalent—was significantly reduced in the acute phase (p < 0.001) with gradual improvement in group B (p < 0.05). Arterial NVC of group A was significantly impaired with diminished dilatation (p < 0.001) and reduced area under the curve (p < 0.01) when compared to group C. Group B showed persistent prolonged latency of arterial dilation (p < 0.05). Venous NVC was significantly delayed after SAH compared to group C (A p < 0.001; B p < 0.05). To our knowledge, this is the first clinical study to document retinal vasoconstriction and impairment of NVC in patients with SAH. Using non-invasive RVA as a translational approach, characteristic patterns of compromise were detected for the arterial and venous compartment of the neurovascular unit in a time-dependent fashion. Recruitment will continue to facilitate a correlation analysis with clinical course and outcome.
Y1  - 2018
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12975-017-0585-8
SN  - 1868-601X
IS  - 9
SP  - 284
EP  - 293
PB  - Springer Nature
CY  - Cham
ER  -