Relationship between raised intraocular pressure and ischemia-modified albumin in serum and humor aqueous:a pilot study in rabbits

AIM: We evaluated the relationship between increased intraocular pressure (IOP), ischemia-modified albumin levels in serum (IMA-s) and in humor aqueous (IMA-HA) in rabbits.METHODS: Twenty-five albino New Zealand rabbits weighing between 2.0 and 2.8 kg were used in this pilot study. With permission from Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University Animal Ethics Committee, the IOP of both eyes of each rabbit were recorded with a Tonopen (Tono-Pen XL, Reichart Inc., Depew, NY, USA) after the application of topical proparacaine 0.5% HCl anesthesia. Blood (4 mL) was collected from the marginal ear vein and an intracameral injection of 2.3 mg/mL sodium hyaluronate and subconjunctival dexamethasone was given in the right eye. Anterior chamber aqueous fluid was obtained using a limbal approach with a 27 gauge needle from both eyes. The left eyes were used as controls. IOP was measured on the 1st, 3rd and 10th day after the initial injection, with Tonopen, IMA-s levels and IMA-HA examined simultaneously.RESULTS:Before the injections, IOP was 11.4±3.0 mm Hg in the right eye and 11.3±3.1 mm Hg in the left eye (P>0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between IMA-s levels before the IOP increase (IMA-s0) and IMA-s levels on the 1st and 3rd days after the increase in IOP (P=0.012 and P=0.01, respectively). No difference was observed between IMA-s0 and serum IMA levels on the 10th day (IMA-s10) after IOP increase (P=0.989). IMA-HA in the right eye in the first day after the injection was positively correlated with IOP (r=0.748; P=0.02). No other correlation is found between any other parameter with IMA-HA levels at any test time. A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between IMA-s values and IOP on the 1st and 3rd days (r=0.398, P=0.04 and r=0.382, P=0.04, respectively). There was no correlation between IMA-s levels and increased IOP on the 10th day after IOP increase (r=0.026, P=0.902).CONCLUSION: IMA may be an important indicator of acute damage caused by diseases involving ischemic damage to the eye, especially in case of increased intraocular pressure