THE BLOOD‐RETINAL BARRIER PERMEABILITY IN ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION

Abstract

In a series of 8 patients with recently discovered moderate essential hypertension the blood-retinal barrier permeability to fluorescein was determined by aid of quantitative vitreous fluorophotometry before and after normalization of the systemic blood pressure. The permeability before medical treatment was 1.69 X 10(-7) cm/sec (+/- SEM = 0.14) and after medical treatment and normalization of the blood pressure 1.27 X 10(-7) cm/sec (+/- SEM = 0.12), corresponding to the permeability in a normal population. Thus the blood-retinal barrier permeability is pathologically increased even in moderate degrees of essential hypertension, but this increase in permeability is reversible.