Vascular Autoregulatory Response In Neural Tissue: A Prospective Cohort Study Of The Eye In Pregnancy

Eye is brain and the superficial retinal circulation is homologous in structure and function to that of brain, including its ability to autoregulate (AR). Earlier studies of the human eye suggest hemodynamic changes that accompany normal pregnancy invoke and test the integrity of neural-type AR and this can be measured using Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT). Specifically, the macula thins by 3-5% of its thickness in early normal pregnancy. We propose this is due to a leftward shift in AR caused by increased capillary permeability. If correct, it should be possible to interrogate the limits of AR against systemic BP.