HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Correspondence: Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Correspondence are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Havelius, U. Articles by Krakau, T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Havelius, U. Articles by Krakau, T.

I. Impaired dark adaptation in symptomatic carotid artery disease

From the Departments of Ophthalmology (Drs. Havelius and Krakau), Surgery(Dr. Bergqvist), Internal Medicine (Dr. Falke), and Neurology (Dr. Hindfelt), University Hospital MAS, University of Lund, Malmö Sweden. Malmö, Sweden.

It has been known for more than a century that even slight hypoxemia reduces dark adaptation. We studied dark adaptation in symptomatic carotid artery disease. Twenty-one consecutive patients scheduled for first-time carotid endarterectomy and 31 age-matched control subjects with normal carotid arteries were examined by dark adaptometry monocularly and were tested repeatedly on consecutive days. The average degree of internal carotid stenosis on the symptomatic side was much greater than that on the contralateral side. Dark adaptation was markedly impaired in the patients as compared with the control subjects. In the patients there was no difference in dark adaptation between the symptomatic and nonsymptomatic sides. The existence of carotid stenosis correlated to the level of dark adaptation. Pupillary size and age correlated to the dark adaptational level but did not affect the effect of carotid stenosis on dark adaptation. The decreased dark adaptation may be due to insufficient blood supply or repeated subclinical microembolization to the retinae, the brain, or both.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G B Arden, R L Sidman, W Arap, and R O Schlingemann Spare the rod and spoil the eye Br. J. Ophthalmol., June 1, 2005; 89(6): 764 - 769. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G B ARDEN The absence of diabetic retinopathy in patients with retinitis pigmentosa: implications for pathophysiology and possible treatment Br. J. Ophthalmol., March 1, 2001; 85(3): 366 - 370. [Full Text]