Susceptibility of the diabetic rat retina to intraocular pressure challenge

© 2012 Dr. Vickie Hoi Ying WongThis thesis shows that hyperglycaemia makes retinal function and ocular blood flow more sensitive to acute intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation. Increased functional susceptibility was associated with a reduced capacity to upregulate endothelial nitric oxide synthase. Chronic IOP elevation (4 weeks) produced retinal dysfunction and exacerbated the susceptibility of ocular blood flow to IOP challenge in diabetic but not healthy rats. These data suggest that hyperglycaemia-induced blood flow anomalies may contribute to the functional susceptibility of the diabetic eye to IOP