Brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor, dynamic retinal vessel responses during flicker light and stroke risk: the SABPA study

Abstract

Assessment of the retinal vessels' structure and function provides an automated and objective approach to noninvasively assess the condition of the cerebral microvasculature and indicates susceptibility for stroke. Neurons, glial cells and the cerebral endothelium exhibit a unique relationship as they function as a cohesive unit namely, neurovascular coupling, similar to that of the retinal microvasculature. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an essential role in the survival, growth and maintenance of neural structures. BDNF is actively released by cerebral endothelial cells, constituting a link between maintaining cerebral and possibly retinal blood flow as well as effective neurovascular coupling