Sleep accounts for a third of one＇s lifetime, partial or complete deprivation of sleep could elicit sever disorders of body function. Previous studies have reported the higher prevalence of sleep disorders in glaucom...Sleep accounts for a third of one＇s lifetime, partial or complete deprivation of sleep could elicit sever disorders of body function. Previous studies have reported the higher prevalence of sleep disorders in glaucoma patients, but the definite mechanism for this phenomenon is unknown. On the other hand, it is well known by us that the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells（ip RGCs） serve additional ocular functions, called non-image-forming（NIF） functions, in the regulation of circadian rhythm, melatonin secretion, sleep, mood and others. Specifically, ip RGCs can directly or indirectly innervate the central areas such as suprachiasmatic nucleus（SCN）, downstream pineal gland（the origin of melatonin）, sleep and wake-inducing centers and mood regulation areas, making NIF functions of ip RGCs relate to sleep. The more interesting thing is that previous research showed glaucoma not only affected visual functions such as the degeneration of classical retinal ganglion cells（RGCs）, but also affected ip RGCs. Therefore, we hypothesize that higher prevalence of sleep disorders in glaucoma patients maybe result from the underlying glaucomatous injuries of ip RGCs leading to the abnormalities of diverse NIF functions corresponding to sleep.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.81200687)the National Major Scientific Equipment Program(No.2012YQ12008005)the Young Scholar for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China(No.20120181120014)
文摘Sleep accounts for a third of one＇s lifetime, partial or complete deprivation of sleep could elicit sever disorders of body function. Previous studies have reported the higher prevalence of sleep disorders in glaucoma patients, but the definite mechanism for this phenomenon is unknown. On the other hand, it is well known by us that the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells（ip RGCs） serve additional ocular functions, called non-image-forming（NIF） functions, in the regulation of circadian rhythm, melatonin secretion, sleep, mood and others. Specifically, ip RGCs can directly or indirectly innervate the central areas such as suprachiasmatic nucleus（SCN）, downstream pineal gland（the origin of melatonin）, sleep and wake-inducing centers and mood regulation areas, making NIF functions of ip RGCs relate to sleep. The more interesting thing is that previous research showed glaucoma not only affected visual functions such as the degeneration of classical retinal ganglion cells（RGCs）, but also affected ip RGCs. Therefore, we hypothesize that higher prevalence of sleep disorders in glaucoma patients maybe result from the underlying glaucomatous injuries of ip RGCs leading to the abnormalities of diverse NIF functions corresponding to sleep.
