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Autonomic Nervous System Activity and Normal Tension Glaucoma

NCT01192061 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 97

Last updated 2011-01-25

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Evidence has accumulated that systemic and ocular mechanisms, responsible for regulating blood flow in the area of the optic disc, such as reduced ocular perfusion pressure, abnormal autoregulation and vascular dysregulation may be involved in the pathogenesis of normal tension glaucoma (NTG). Defective cardiovascular neuroregulation has been advocated as a possible one of the main systemic contributing factors in the etiology of NTG. Based on the results of previous studies, the hypothesis has been posed that patients with NTG have an impaired diurnal heart rate variability (HRV) or high activity of the sympathetic component of autonomic nervous system (ANS) and endothelial dysfunction. Impaired balance of ANS, resulting in increased demand for oxygen in the tissues and subsequent low threshold of hypoxia in all organs (including the eye) can be an important link in the pathogenetic pathway of NTG, making the optic nerve more sensitive to small and short-term changes in perfusion pressure and prone to damage even under a statistically "normal" intraocular pressure (IOP).

The aim of this study is to evaluate the activity and characteristics of the following systems: the central ANS (through a 24-hour analysis of heart rate variability and blood pressure), peripheral vascular system (through the analysis of the post-occlusive hyperemia reaction within the distal part of left upper limb) and the local retrobulbar circulation as measured by color Doppler imaging (CDI) in patients with NTG and healthy volunteers. The correlations between all above systems, as well as between them and the structural and functional parameters of the optic nerve, and the retina in both groups will be also analyzed.

Conditions

  • Normal Tension Glaucoma

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Polish Academy of Sciences

    collaborator OTHER

  • Indiana University School of Medicine

    collaborator OTHER

  • Medical University of Warsaw

    collaborator OTHER

  • Military Institute od Medicine National Research Institute

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Joanna Wierzbowska, MD, PhD · Military Medical Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, 128 Szaserow Str. 04-141 Warsaw, Poland

Eligibility

Min Age
30 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2010-02-28
Primary Completion
2011-01-31
Completion
2011-01-31

Countries

  • Poland

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01192061 on ClinicalTrials.gov