Biomarkers of visual ischemia as predictors of ischemic brain stroke

Purpose. To study biomarkers of ischemia of the organ of vision in patients with acute disorders of the arterial circulation of the retina and optic nerve. Material and methods. We observed 38 patients (38 eyes). The patients were divided into two groups, the first group consisted of 26 patients (26 eyes) with acute circulatory disorders of the optic nerve (anterior ischemic neuropathy), the second group consisted of 12 patients (12 eyes) with acute circulatory disorders of the retina (occlusion of the central artery retina and its branches). The control group consisted of 12 practically healthy individuals. Results. In a biochemical study in patients with anterior ischemic neuropathy (1st group), the level of NSE in the lacrimal fluid was increased compared to the control group and averaged 32.3 ± 0.85 ng/ml, although in the blood serum it remained within the normal range , which reflects the beginning of destructive processes in the nervous tissue. In patients with acute circulatory disorders of the retina (2nd group), the content of NSE in the lacrimal fluid was increased by 1.7 times compared with the control group. Conclusion. The NSE study can be used in a comprehensive examination of patients with acute circulatory disorders of the optic disc and retina as an additional marker of the neurodegenerative process. Since data from traditional methods of research do not always show the degree of damage to the visual pathways, the study of the level of NSE helps to make assumptions about the severity of the disease and predict the outcome. Keywords: visual organ ischemia, occlusion, anterior ischemic neuropathy, central retinal artery, diagnostics, NSE protein