Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose:To evaluate the effect of nicergoline (an alpha-adrenergic receptor antagonist) on choroidal hemodynamics and visual function in humans. Methods:Fifteen healthy persons (27.3 ± 8.88 years, 12 male and 3 female) were recruited for this randomized cross-over double blind placebo controlled study. Flow velocity in the ophthalmic artery, short posterior ciliary arteries, and central retinal artery (CRA) was measured in a randomly chosen eye at baseline and two hours after the 30 mg, 60 mg of nicergoline or placebo PO by color Doppler imaging (CDI). Peak systolic (PSV) and end diastolic (EDV) velocities were measured, and Pourcelot's resistive index (RI) was calculated. Visual acuity (VA) and contrast sensitivity (CS) were also measured before and after drug by ETDRS logmar chart and CSV 1000 respectively. Baseline and post-drug values were compared by ANOVA. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the correlation between blood flow and visual function. P less than or equal to 0.05 was significant. Results:ANOVA found no statistically significant changes in either flow velocity or visual function. Contrast sensitivity at 18 cycles per degree correlated significantly with EDV in each vessel (p<0.0478, r2>0.555). Visual acuity correlated with CRA EDV and PSV (p<0.0079, r2>0.785). Conclusion:Invitro models suggest that concombinant changes in PSV and EDV may be interpreted as changes in volumetric blood flow. In a subset of subjects, nicergoline improved both blood flow and visual function, supporting an association between ocular blood flow with visual function.
Keywords: 620 visual acuity • 430 imaging/image analysis: clinical