Is There a Difference in Flicker Induced Vasodilatation Between Smokers and Non-Smokers?

July 1, 2008 updated by: Medical University of Vienna

Habitual smoking is associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease, cerebral and peripheral vascular disease, including ocular diseases like age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy. Data of a recent study performed in the investigators lab revealed abnormal choroidal blood flow regulation in chronic smokers as compared to age-matched non-smoking subjects during isometric exercise. However, no information is yet available about the regulation of retinal vascular tone in habitual smokers.

Thus, in the current study, the investigators set out to investigate whether the regulation of retinal vessels diameters is affected in habitual smokers. It has been shown in several reports that stimulation with diffuse luminance flicker, increases retinal arterial and venous diameters, indicating for the ability of the retina to adapt to changing metabolic demands. In the current study we use this effect as a tool to investigate whether the flicker induced vasodilatation is affected in habitual smokers. This would indicate for an impaired vascular regulation process in smokers.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Study Type

Interventional

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Vienna, Austria, 1090
        • Department of Clinical Pharmacology

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 35 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 24 subjects aged between 18 and 35 years, nonsmokers (since at least 2 years)
  • 24 subjects aged between 18 and 35 years, smokers (at least 10 cigarettes/day since 2 years)
  • Body mass index between 15th and 85th percentile
  • Normal findings in the medical history and physical examination unless the investigator considers an abnormality to be clinically irrelevant
  • Normal laboratory values unless the investigator considers an abnormality to be clinically irrelevant
  • Normal ophthalmic findings, ametropy < 3 dpt.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Regular use of medication, abuse of alcoholic beverages, participation in a clinical trial in the 3 weeks preceding the study
  • Treatment in the previous 3 weeks with any drug
  • Symptoms of a clinically relevant illness in the 3 weeks before the first study day
  • History or presence of gastrointestinal, liver or kidney disease, or other conditions known to interfere with distribution, metabolism or excretion of study drugs
  • Blood donation during the previous 3 weeks
  • Ametropy >= 3 dpt

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Flicker response (Retinal vessel analyzer, Laser Doppler Velocimetry)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

December 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 5, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 5, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

February 6, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

July 4, 2008

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 1, 2008

Last Verified

June 1, 2008

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • OPHT-121203

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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