Publication details

Retinal venular vessel diameters are smaller during ten days of bed rest

Authors

SALON Adam CIFTCI Goektug Mert ZUBAC Damir SIMUNIC Bostjan PISOT Rado NARICI Marco FREDRIKSEN Per Morten NKEH-CHUNGAG Benedicta Ngwenchi SOURIJ Harald ŠERÝ Omar SCHMID-ZALAUDEK Karin STEUBER Bianca PATRICK De Boever GOSWAMI Nandu

Year of publication 2023
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Nature Scientific Reports
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Science

Citation
Web https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-46177-x
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46177-x
Keywords BAROREFLEX CONTROL; PLASMA-VOLUME; BLOOD-FLOW; RISK; MICROGRAVITY; HYPERTENSION; RESPONSES; ATROPHY
Description Older individuals experience cardiovascular dysfunction during extended bedridden hospital or care home stays. Bed rest is also used as a model to simulate accelerated vascular deconditioning occurring during spaceflight. This study investigates changes in retinal microcirculation during a ten-day bed rest protocol. Ten healthy young males (22.9?±?4.7 years; body mass index: 23.6?±?2.5 kg·m–2) participated in a strictly controlled repeated-measures bed rest study lasting ten days. High-resolution images were obtained using a hand-held fundus camera at baseline, daily during the 10 days of bed rest, and 1 day after re-ambulation. Retinal vessel analysis was performed using a semi-automated software system to obtain metrics for retinal arteriolar and venular diameters, central retinal artery equivalent and central retinal vein equivalent, respectively. Data analysis employed a mixed linear model. At the end of the bed rest period, a significant decrease in retinal venular diameter was observed, indicated by a significantly lower central retinal vein equivalent (from 226.1 µm, CI 8.90, to 211.4 µm, CI 8.28, p?=?.026), while no significant changes in central retinal artery equivalent were noted. Prolonged bed rest confinement resulted in a significant (up to 6.5%) reduction in retinal venular diameter. These findings suggest that the changes in retinal venular diameter during bedrest may be attributed to plasma volume losses and reflect overall (cardio)-vascular deconditioning.

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