Ocular autonomic function in progressive autonomic failure

✍ Scribed by Charles V. Clark; David J. Ewing

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1988
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 599 KB
• Volume: 70
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0012-4486
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00157061

✦ Synopsis

Ocular autonomic function was assessed in 4 patients with progressive autonomic failure (PAF) and age-matched control subjects, by measurement of the pupil cycle time, and determination of autonomic denervation hypersensitivity of the iris. Pupil cycle time was abnormal in all patients with PAF; sustained pupil cycling was absent in 5 of the 8 eyes tested of the PAF patients, compared with only 16 eyes from 70 control subjects. Pupil constriction in response to 2.5% methacholine, indicative of parasympathetic denervation hypersensitivity, was significantly increased in patients with PAF (p less than 0.001), whilst pupil dilation in response to 0.5% phenylephrine, indicative of sympathetic denervation hypersensitivity, was also significantly higher in the PAF patients (p less than 0.001). The results suggest that ocular autonomic function may provide a sensitive early indicator of generalised autonomic dysfunction.