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Effects of high-dose prednisolone on optic nerve head blood flow in patients with acute optic neuritis

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Abstract

Background

In this study, patients with optic neuritis were treated with high-dose prednisolone. Little information is available about the effects of this treatment on ocular blood flow. We set out to investigate the effects of high-dose prednisolone on optic nerve head (ONH) blood flow in patients with acute optic neuritis.

Methods

Thirteen patients with acute optic neuritis were included in the study. 1000 mg of prednisolone was infused intravenously over 30 minutes on 3 consecutive days. On each study day, ONH blood flow was measured using laser Doppler flowmetry. The ocular hemodynamic measurements were performed on the unaffected eye of the patients with unilateral acute optic neuritis before and immediately after cessation of the infusion. Intraocular pressure (IOP) and systemic blood pressure was measured before and after the infusion on each study day. Data was analyzed using a repeated measures ANOVA model.

Results

Prednisolone increased ONH blood flow in the patients under study (p = 0.04), although the effects were in generally small. No significant change in mean arterial pressure (p = 0.70) or IOP (p = 0.20) could be detected in the patients treated with high-dose prednisolone.

Conclusions

A small but significant increase in ONH blood flow resulted from infusion of high-dose prednisolone. Further studies are required to investigate whether this effect contributes to the therapeutic efficacy of cortisone in patients with optic neuritis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18–20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    K. Kircher, G. Weigert, H. Resch, G. Garhöfer, G. T. Dorner, G. Fuchsjäger Mayrl & A. Reitner

  2. Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18–20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    G. Weigert, H. Resch, G. Garhöfer & L. Schmetterer

  3. Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18–20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    L. Schmetterer

Authors
  1. K. Kircher
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  2. G. Weigert
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  3. H. Resch
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  4. G. Garhöfer
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  5. G. T. Dorner
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  6. G. Fuchsjäger Mayrl
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  7. A. Reitner
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  8. L. Schmetterer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. Schmetterer.

Additional information

This study was not sponsored by an organisation, therefore no financial relationship exists for any author. The authors have no proprietary or financial interest in any aspect of this study. They have full control of all primary data and agree to allow Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology to review their data upon request.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00312325.

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Kircher, K., Weigert, G., Resch, H. et al. Effects of high-dose prednisolone on optic nerve head blood flow in patients with acute optic neuritis. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 246, 1423–1427 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-008-0870-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-008-0870-z

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