Purpose
To study the effect of stress induced changes in IOP in NHPs using continuous bilateral IOP telemetry.
Methods
IOP, heart rate (HR), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were recorded at six event-based time points during our anesthetic injection protocol using a previously validated implantable telemetry system that wirelessly records 500 measurements per second of bilateral IOP and aortic blood pressure (IOVS 52(10):7365-75) in 3 young rhesus macaques ages 3-6 years. Data were collected before entering the outer doors of the NHP holding room as a baseline, after entering the outer and inner doors, after being squeezed in the cage for anesthetic injection, after intramuscular (IM) injection, and after the squeeze cage was released.
Results
IOP, MAP, and HR all increased rapidly and significantly by 27%, 38%, 34%, respectively, in anticipation of anesthetic induction (Table: bottom). The response was individual specific, with IOP increasing as much as 34%, 41%, and 62% above baseline in the three NHPs, respectively.
Conclusions
IOP in NHPs increases rapidly and significantly in anticipation of human interaction, and these changes occur within 20-30 seconds. IOP exhibits dynamic behavior in response to human interaction.