ipRGCs: possible causation accounts for the higher prevalence of sleep disorders in glaucoma patients

Journal Title: International Journal of Ophthalmology - Year 2017, Vol 10, Issue 7

Abstract

Sleep accounts for a third of one’s lifetime, partial or complete deprivation of sleep could elicit sever disorders of body function. Previous studies have reported the higher prevalence of sleep disorders in glaucoma patients, but the definite mechanism for this phenomenon is unknown. On the other hand, it is well known by us that the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) serve additional ocular functions, called non-image-forming (NIF) functions, in the regulation of circadian rhythm, melatonin secretion, sleep, mood and others. Specifically, ipRGCs can directly or indirectly innervate the central areas such as suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), downstream pineal gland (the origin of melatonin), sleep and wake-inducing centers and mood regulation areas, making NIF functions of ipRGCs relate to sleep. The more interesting thing is that previous research showed glaucoma not only affected visual functions such as the degeneration of classical retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), but also affected ipRGCs. Therefore, we hypothesize that higher prevalence of sleep disorders in glaucoma patients maybe result from the underlying glaucomatous injuries of ipRGCs leading to the abnormalities of diverse NIF functions corresponding to sleep.

Authors and Affiliations

Zhu-Ping Xu

Keywords

Related Articles

The association of intraocular pressure with metabolic syndrome and its components: a Meta-analysis and systematic review

"AIM: To perform a Meta-analysis to explore the correlation between metabolic syndrome and intraocular pressure (IOP). METHODS: We searched PubMed and Embase in November 2017 for studies discussing the relationship betwe...

Cell death and survival following manual and femtosecond laser-assisted capsulotomy in age-related cataract

"AIM: To study molecular and morphological changes in lens epithelial cells following femtosecond laser-assisted and manually performed continuous curvilinear capsulotomy (CCC) in order to get information about these met...

Comparison of visual effects of FS-LASIK for myopia centered on the coaxially sighted corneal light reflex or the line of sight

"AIM: To compare visual quality after femtosecond laser in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK), between the coaxially sighted corneal light reflex (CSCLR) group and conventional ablation line of sight (LOS) group. METHODS: In...

A review of paediatric vision screening protocols and guidelines

Vision screening plays an important role in the early detection of children who have or probably are predisposed to have specific visual problems. The validity and reliability of the screening batteries in relation to th...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP596795
  • DOI 10.18240/ijo.2017.07.22
  • Views 27
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Zhu-Ping Xu (2017). ipRGCs: possible causation accounts for the higher prevalence of sleep disorders in glaucoma patients. International Journal of Ophthalmology, 10(7), -. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-596795