Hypercapnia Impairs Vasoreactivity to Changes in Blood Pressure and Intraocular Pressure in Rat Retina

Abstract

SIGNIFICANCE: The balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide sets the resting tone (or diameter) of retinal blood vessels. Eyes that are hypercapnic use up their "vasodilatory reserve" and therefore fail to respond adequately to changes in intraocular or blood pressure. PURPOSE: Retinal vessels are regulated by both myogenic and metabolic mechanisms. We considered whether alteration of metabolic status would modify the vascular response to ocular perfusion pressure (OPP) lowering in rat retina. METHODS: In pentobarbital anesthetized adult Brown-Norway rats, normocapnia or hypercapnia was achieved by artificially ventilating animals with air or 5% carbon dioxide in ~30% oxygen, respectively. O..