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An alpha 2-adrenergic mode of action of chlordimeform on rat visual function.

The hypothesis that chlordimeform increased the amplitude of components N1P1 and P1N3 in rat pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials through actions on alpha 2-adrenergic receptors was tested with two sets of experiments. First, rats received single injections of either vehicle, an alpha 2-adrenergic antagonist yohimbine (0.1, 0.5, or 2.0 mg/kg), or an alpha 2-adrenergic agonist clonidine (0.05, 0.1, or 0.5 mg/kg). Yohimbine alone had no effect on pattern-reversal evoked potential amplitude. Clonidine treatment produced a dosage related increase in amplitude of both components similar to that produced by chlordimeform (W.K. Boyes and R.S. Dyer, 1984, Brain Res. Bull., 10, 817-823). Second, rats were given double injections of either vehicle or yohimbine (0.05, 0.5, 2.0, or 5.0 mg/kg) followed by either vehicle, clonidine (0.1 or 0.2 mg/kg) or chlordimeform (10, 20, or 40 mg/kg). Yohimbine pretreatment attenuated the effects of subsequent treatment with either clonidine or chlordimeform. These results support the hypothesis that chlordimeform alters rat pattern-reversal evoked potentials through actions as a central nervous system alpha 2-adrenergic agonist.

Amidines↗

Duplicity theory and ground squirrels: linkages between photoreceptors and visual function.

The presence of rod and cone photoreceptors has traditionally been linked to well-defined classes of visual capacity by the generalization known as duplicity theory. This paper summarizes results obtained from studies of vision and the visual system in ground squirrels (Spermophilus sp.) that reveal instances where structure/function linkages depart from expectations based in duplicity theory. The details of these exceptions are reviewed and their possible mechanisms discussed.

Animals↗

Visual function and quality of life among patients with giant cell (temporal) arteritis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate patient perception of visual and systemic disability associated with giant cell arteritis (GCA) and whether the perceived disability can be correlated with visual performance measures. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated and compared the visual performance and quality of life survey for 20 patients with GCA after 4 to 5 weeks of corticosteroid therapy and after one year of therapy. We measured visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and threshold perimetry and patients completed the Activities of Daily Vision Scale (ADVS) and the short-form of the Health Survey (SF-36). The results were grouped by GCA affected or unaffected eye or by better or worse eye and reported as a decimal and percent impairment for acuity, log units for contrast, mean deviation and the Advanced Glaucoma Intervention Study (AGIS) score for perimetry. The results for patients with and without visual loss were compared. Correlation analyses between ADVS categories and visual performance measures, SF-36 categories and the presence of visual loss, total corticosteroid dose, systemic symptoms, secondary hypertension or diabetes mellitus, the presence of vertebral fracture, and visual performance were performed. RESULTS: Day driving was the only ADVS category significantly reduced at baseline in patients with visual loss (62.5) compared with those without visual loss (96.3, P = 0.04). Modest to moderate correlations between ADVS categories were most frequent for percent binocular acuity impairment with day driving (r = -0.62, P = 0.017), with distance vision (r = -0.5, P = 0.02), and with glare (r = -0.59, P = 0.006); and the AGIS score of the worse eye with day driving (r = -0.66, P = 0.01), with near vision (r = -0.49, P = 0.03), and with glare (r = -0.48, P = 0.04). The baseline SF-36 scores did not correlate with the presence of vision loss at baseline or systemic complications. The ADVS and SF-36 scores were similar at one year. The total dose of corticosteroids only had a modest correlation with the one-year mental health score (r = -0.45, P = 0.05), but there was no correlation between SF-36 scores and other systemic side effects of steroid therapy. CONCLUSION: Except for the day driving score, the ADVS did not differ between patients with and without visual loss. The SF-36 did not distinguish between patients with and without visual loss and did not reveal significant trends. The ADVS and SF-36 did not reveal significant disability in GCA patients and there were no strong correlations with any visual performance or systemic measures.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Improved visual function in IDDM patients with unchanged cumulative incidence of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate trends in visual acuity and the cumulative incidence of diabetic retinopathy in a clinic-based observational follow-up study. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: All patients visiting Hvidore Hospital in 1984 whose diagnosis of IDDM had been made before 41 years of age and between 1965 and 1979 (n = 356) were followed until 1994 or until their deaths. All patients were Caucasians and resided in Copenhagen. Patients were divided into three prevalence cohorts based on time of diabetes onset: group A, 1965-1969 (n = 113); group B, 1970-1974 (n = 130); and group C, 1975-1979 (n = 113). RESULTS: Fifteen years after diabetes onset, the visual acuity was significantly improved in patients with increasing calendar year of the disease onset. The median (interquartile range) visual acuity was 1.0 (0.8-1.0), 1.0(0.9-1.0), and 1.0 (1.0-1.0) in groups A, B, and C, respectively (P < 0.01 overall; P = 0.28 for group A vs. group B; and P < 0.01 for group A vs. group C) with 60, 66, and 93 having a visual acuity of 1.0 in groups A, B, and C, respectively. The cumulative incidence (+/-SEM), expressed as a percentage and calculated according to the life-table method, of proliferative retinopathy, maculopathy, and laser-treated retinopathy 15 years after onset of diabetes were, respectively, 13+/-3, 11+/-3, and 12+/-3 in group A; 16+/-3, 12+/-3, and 21+/-4 in group B; 11+/-3, 5+/-2, and 12+/-3 in group C, respectively (NS). The development of proliferative retinopathy was associated with the degree of retinopathy and albuminuria at baseline and the mean HbA1c during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed an improvement in visual acuity with increasing calendar year of diabetes onset but an unchanged cumulative incidence of diabetic retinopathy.

Adult↗

Resolution of optic nerve edema and improved visual function after optic nerve sheath fenestration in a patient with osteopetrosis.

PURPOSE: To describe the outcome of a patient with visual loss and optic nerve edema that resulted from osteopetrosis who underwent an optic nerve sheath fenestration (ONSF). DESIGN: Interventional case report. METHODS: A 33-year-old man with osteopetrosis had bilateral visual field loss and optic nerve edema. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated open optic canals. Although a lumbar puncture showed a normal opening pressure, there were other findings that were suggestive of increased intracranial pressure. The patient elected to undergo a unilateral optic nerve sheath fenestration. RESULTS: After ONSF, the patient experienced markedly improved visual acuity, visual field, and optic nerve appearance. CONCLUSION: Individuals with visual loss and optic disk edema that is associated with osteopetrosis may benefit from ONSF if the optic canals appear to be open and the optic nerve edema is thought to be related to increased intracranial pressure.

Adult↗

Specificity of cognitive impairment from Pfiesteria piscicida exposure in rats: attention and visual function versus behavioral plasticity.

Pfiesteria piscicida is a toxic dinoflagellate that has caused massive fish kills in estuaries along the East Coast of the United States, and exposure of humans to toxic Pfiesteria has been associated with cognitive impairment. A visual signal detection task was used to determine the possible importance of attentional and visual processes in Pfiesteria effects on cognitive function. Adult female rats were trained to perform the signal detection task. After training, the rats were injected subcutaneously with fish culture water containing toxic Pfiesteria (35,600 or 106,800 cells of Pfiesteria/kg of rat body weight) or with (control) fish culture water containing no Pfiesteria. Effects of toxic Pfiesteria on maintenance of signal detection behavior were assessed for 2 weeks after treatment. Then, the signal-response contingencies were reversed. After the discrimination was reestablished on the reversed levers, the rats received a second dose of toxic Pfiesteria. The rats were again tested for 2 weeks, after which a second reversal was imposed. Pfiesteria did not affect behavior in the signal detection task during 2 weeks of prereversal testing after either exposure. However, a significant Pfiesteria-induced deficit emerged when the signal-response contingencies were reversed. These findings suggest that Pfiesteria-induced deficits emerge during periods of behavioral transition and not during performance of previously learned tasks.

Animals↗

Structure and function in glaucoma: The relationship between a functional visual field map and an anatomic retinal map.

PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between an anatomic map relating the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) distribution to the optic nerve head and a functional map derived from the interpoint correlation of raw sensitivities in visual field (VF) testing. METHODS: Previously, interpoint correlations were generated for all possible pairs of VF test points in a dataset of 98,821 Humphrey VF test results taken from the Moorfields Eye Hospital archive. The relationship between these correlations and the physical distance between the VF test point pairs was evaluated by Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. The distance between the pairs of VF test points was calculated in two ways. First, the anatomic map was used to estimate the angular distance at the optic nerve head (ONH), between the RNFL bundles corresponding to the VF test points in each pair (ONHd). Second, the retinal distance between pairs of test points was calculated from the Humphrey VF template (RETd). A best-fit model for predicting functional correlation (FC) from ONHd and RETd was constructed and used to formulate a filter incorporating the anatomic-functional correlation data. RESULTS: All scatterplots showed a negative association between interpoint retinal sensitivity correlation values and distance between points: ONHd (R2 = 0.60) and RETd (R2 = 0.33). The raw sensitivity correlation values could be predicted from a multiple regression model using ONHd, RETd, and a combined interaction of ONHd and RETd (R2 = 0.75, P < 0.00001). The construction of a new filter was based on the equation FC = 0.9325 - (0.0029 . ONHd) - (0.0077 . RETd) + (0.0001 . ONHd . RETd). CONCLUSIONS: A good level of association was observed between the strength of correlation between points in the VF and the relative location of those test points in the peripheral retina and in corresponding RNFL bundles at the ONH. These results help to validate the relationship between structure and function and may be of use in the further refinement of physiologically derived VF filters to reduce measurement noise.

Glaucoma, Open-Angle↗

Visual memory testing in older adults with age-related visual decline: a measure of memory performance or visual functioning?

Although we know that vision is correlated with memory performance in older adults, the implications for this in terms of neuropsychological assessment have not been investigated. Relationships among age, visual acuity, and visual and verbal memory in 89 community dwelling volunteers aged 60 to 87 years were examined. Vision was tested using the Landolt C and visual and verbal memory were assessed via the Visual Reproduction (VR) and Word List (WL) subtests from the Wechsler Memory Scale, Third Edition (WMS-III; Wechsler, 1997), respectively. Significant correlations were observed between vision and the VR and WL tasks. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that vision significantly increased the R2 for VR and WL after controlling for age and education. The effect of vision was not specific to visual memory. We conclude that vision is correlated with general memory function in older adults, and is not modality specific.

Aged↗