Retinal vessel dilation following repletion of vitamin A deficiency.
We hypothesized that because depletion of vitamin A blocks the initiation of phototransduction, such inhibition of functional activation should lead to decrease retinal metabolism and perfusion. In a case study of a vitamin A-depleted patient, we found that retinal vessel diameters, a surrogate measure of retinal perfusion, increased in concert with the restitution of electroretinographic function following vitamin A supplementation. When normalized to conditions after treatment, the relative magnitude of study parameters at presentation were: scotopic electroretinography B-wave amplitude 1.2%, photopic electroretrinography B-wave amplitude 23%, retinal vein diameter 88%, retinal artery diameter 94%. These observations support that activation of the visual process results in increased retinal metabolism and perfusion.
Larsen
M
M
Pedersen
R
R
Taarnhøj
N C B B
NC
Spits
Y
Y
Munch
I C
IC
Leroy
B P
BP
Klemp
K
K
D000328:Adult; D004596:Electroretinography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010477:Perfusion; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*
D014801:Vitamin A