Tl. Maus et al., THE EFFECTS OF SLEEP ON CIRCULATING CATECHOLAMINES AND AQUEOUS FLOW IN HUMAN-SUBJECTS, Experimental Eye Research, 62(4), 1996, pp. 351-358
We measured the rate of aqueous flow and analysed its relation to the
time of day, the state of wakefulness and the urinary excretion of cat
echolamines. Two groups of subjects were studied, One group comprised
20 normal subjects who were studied over two 22-hr periods. During one
period, the subjects were permitted to sleep during their customary h
ours of sleep: during the other, they were not permitted to sleep, but
remained active for all 22 hr. The other group comprised ten subjects
with obstructive sleep apnea who were studied over a 22-hr period and
slept during their customary hours of sleep but without the aid of an
y respiratory device. Aqueous flow was measured with fluorophotometry.
Motion of the wrist was monitored by a seismograph (wrist Actigraph)
and served as a surrogate of activity and wakefulness. Urinary catecho
lamine excretion was measured during different periods of the wake/sle
ep cycle. Both groups exhibited the normal nocturnal suppression of no
w (59% lower compared to morning in the normal group: 56% lower compar
ed to morning in the apneic group), During sleep deprivation, the rate
of flow at night in normal subjects was 30% lower than during the mor
ning (P < 0.001) and 60% higher than during sleep (P < 0.001). Lid clo
sure during sleep deprivation had no effect on the results. Aqueous fl
ow correlated with a 'catecholamine index', derived from the combined
excretion of epinephrine and norepinephrine. Flow also correlated with
an 'activity index', and 'sleep efficiency', indices derived from mot
ion of the wrist. We conclude that the day-night difference of aqueous
humor flow as measured by clearance of fluorescein from the human eye
is driven partly by a factor that has a circadian rhythm and partly b
y a factor that depends on the activity of the subject. We hypothesize
that these factors are the catecholamines, epinephrine and norepineph
rine. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited