Ocular effects of acute hyperglycaemia.

Intraocular pressure and levels of glucose in plasma were recorded during a standard glucose tolerance test for 54 patients with chronic simple or low-tension glaucoma, and osmolality in plasma was also recorded for 12 patients. Significant correlations between the rates of change of these variables were not obtained, but the overall response of intraocular pressure correlated with the overall increase of plasma glucose, which also correlated with the increase of osmolality. These results show that the changes in refraction associated with acute hyperglycaemia arise from adjustments in fluid balance between intraocular compartments.