Background Reduced ocular perfusion is related to several common eye diseases, like age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy or glaucoma. Moxaverine, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, has a vasodilating effect on peripheral vessels and is therefore clinically used to increase blood flow. It was recently shown that a dose of 150 mg moxaverine administered intravenously increases retin...

PURPOSE To assess systemic and ocular vascular reactivity in response to warm and cold provocation in untreated patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and normal control subjects. METHODS Twenty-four patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and 22 normal control subjects were subjected to a modified cold pressor test involving immersion of the right hand in 40 degrees C warm water followe...

BACKGROUND Diabetes affects the vascular ocular circulation. Colour Doppler imaging allows for simultaneous two dimensional anatomical imaging and Doppler evaluation of blood flow velocity; with this technique ocular blood flow velocity can be evaluated in normal and diabetic patients. METHODS A prospective study compared blood flow velocity in ocular vessels (ophthalmic artery, posterior cil...

PURPOSE The authors have reported previously that a study population, consisting of patients with glaucoma and ocular hypertension, is characterized by an impaired association between ocular blood flow parameters and systemic blood pressure, indicative of abnormal autoregulation. Here they report on the effects of dorzolamide and timolol on ocular pressure/flow relationships to test the hypothe...

PURPOSE To discuss the role of mathematical modeling in studying ocular hemodynamics, with a focus on glaucoma. METHODS We reviewed recent literature on glaucoma, ocular blood flow, autoregulation, the optic nerve head, and the use of mathematical modeling in ocular circulation. RESULTS Many studies suggest that alterations in ocular hemodynamics play a significant role in the development, ...