Transient raise of endothelin-1 plasma level and reduction of ocular blood flow in a patient with optic neuritis.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze how far an ischemic component might have been involved in optic neuritis.


METHODS



METHODS
a 32-year-old man with symptoms characteristic for optic neuritis underwent extensive clinical, laboratory/serological and vascular examination for systemic associations and vascular involvement.


RESULTS
The patient was found to have a temporary ocular blood flow dysregulation and increased plasma endothelin-1 levels which decreased after the acute phase of the optic nerve.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that there might be an ischemic component in this patient with optic neuritis and hypothesize that this ischemic component is at least in part due to a temporarily increased endothelin-1 level.
University Eye Clinic, Basel, Switzerland.
Timo
T
Haufschild
Sidney G
SG
Shaw
Hedwig J
HJ
Kaiser
Josef
J
Flammer
D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009902:Optic Neuritis / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D012161:Retinal Artery / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014794:Visual Fields
D019332:Endothelin-1