Altered retinal flicker response indicates microvascular dysfunction in women with preeclampsia.

Flicker-induced dilatation is reduced in patients with cardiovascular risk, and the following arteriolar constriction is reduced with aging, leading to a reduced arteriolar amplitude and, thereby, indicating microvascular endothelial dysfunction. As endothelial dysfunction is associated with preeclampsia, we assessed retinal flicker response during pregnancy and postpartum. Between 2006 and 2013, women were recruited from University Hospital Jena and Prenatal Diagnostic Center Erfurt, Germany, of which 34 women with preeclampsia, 45 women with normal pregnancy, and 22 nonpregnant controls were included in the study. Women with normal pregnancy were matched for age, nulliparity, smoking, previous gestational hypertensive disorders, and family history of cardiovascular disease. Nonpregnant women were age-matched, nulliparous, nonsmoking, without family history of cardiovascular disease. Retinal vessel measurement using Dynamic Vessel Analyzer consisted of 50-seconds baseline acquisition, followed by three 20-second flicker and 80-second relaxation periods. Arteriolar constriction and arteriolar amplitude were reduced during pregnancy (P=0.001 and P=0.008) and postpartum (P=0.018 and P=0.034) in women with preeclampsia, adjusted for age, body mass index, mean arterial pressure, baseline diameter, and family history of cardiovascular disease. Flicker-induced dilatation was unchanged within the groups and throughout the study period. The unchanged flicker-induced dilatation may support a preserved autoregulatory competence of the microvasculature, and the diminished arteriolar amplitude, mainly because of the absence of the arteriolar constriction, indicates a commenced retinal microvascular dysfunction in women with preeclampsia during pregnancy and postpartum. Mechanisms responsible for altered retinal flicker response in preeclampsia need to be clarified in further studies.