Characterization of intraocular pressure variability in conscious rats.

Elevation of mean intraocular pressure (IOP) has long been recognized as a leading risk factor for glaucoma. Less is known about the possible contribution of moment-to-moment variations in IOP to disease development and progression due to limitations of tonometry, the prevailing method of IOP measurement. Tonometry provides good estimates of mean IOP but not IOP variance. The aim of this study was to quantitatively characterize IOP variability via round-the-clock IOP telemetry in conscious unrestrained rats. The anterior chamber of one eye was implanted with a microcannula connected to a wireless backpack telemetry system, and IOP data were collected every 4 s for one week. The cannula was then repositioned under the conjunctiva, and control data were collected for an additional week. IOP statistics were computed in 30-min intervals over a 24-h period and averaged across days. All animals exhibited a diurnal variation in mean IOP, while deviations about the mean were independent of time of day. Correlation analysis of the deviations revealed transient and sustained components, which were respectively extracted from IOP records using an event detection algorithm. The amplitude and interval distributions of transient and sustained events were characterized, and their energy content was estimated based on outflow tissue resistance of rat eyes. Transient IOP events occurred ∼231 times per day and were typically ≤5 mmHg in amplitude and 2-8 min in duration, while sustained IOP events occurred ∼16 times per day and were typically ≤5 mmHg in amplitude and 20-60 min in duration. Both persisted but were greatly reduced in control recordings, implying minor contamination of IOP data by motion-induced telemetry noise. Sustained events were also often synchronous across implanted animals, indicating that they were driven by autonomic startle and stress responses or other physiological processes activated by sensory signals in the animal housing environment. Not surprisingly, the total daily fluidic energy applied to resistive outflow pathways was determined primarily by basal IOP level. Nevertheless, transient and sustained fluctuations collectively contributed 6% and diurnal fluctuations contributed 9% to daily IOP energy. It is therefore important to consider the cumulative impact of biomechanical stress that IOP fluctuations apply over time to ocular tissues.