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Abstract #18480 Published in IGR 3-3
Measurement of intraocular pressure in awake mice
Cohan BE; Bohr DFInvestigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 2001; 42: 2560-2562
PURPOSE: To determine whether the Goldmann applanation tonometer can be modified to measure intraocular pressure (IOP) in the awake mouse. METHODS: Tonometers with reduction of the biprism angles in the applanating tips and in the weight applied by the instrument were tested in anesthetized mice in calibration experiments. Then a tonometer with the appropriate configuration of tip and weight was used in conscious, unsedated mice. RESULTS: Tonometry in mice required a biprism angle of 36° and weight applied of 25 mg per scale division (2 g full scale). This tonometer was calibrated in mice against manometrically measured IOP and showed good agreement across the range of IOP tested (0-50 mmHg). In conscious mice, the measured mean Goldmann value was 13.7 ± 3.2 mmHg (mean ± SD; 95% confidence interval, 13.1, 14.2 mmHg). CONCLUSIONS: The Goldmann tonometer, the standard for measuring the IOP in the human eye, was modified to measure this fundamental physiological parameter in the awake mouse. This measurement is required to confirm success in genetically engineering a model in the powerful mouse system, which mimics elevated IOP in humans. The model will open new avenues for studying the causes of the optic neuropathy of glaucoma, the regulation of IOP, and new therapeutic approaches to prevent the irreversible loss of vision from this disease.
Dr B.E. Cohan, Eye Research Fund Laboratory, 2350 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA. becohan@umich.edu
Classification:
2.16 Chiasma and retrochiasmal central nervous system (Part of: 2 Anatomical structures in glaucoma)
