Effects of various anesthetic and autonomic drugs on refraction in monkeys.

PubMed ID: 2387164

Author(s): Crawford K, Gabelt BT, Kaufman PL, Bito LZ. Effects of various anesthetic and autonomic drugs on refraction in monkeys. Curr Eye Res. 1990 Jun;9(6):525-32. PMID 2387164

Journal: Current Eye Research, Volume 9, Issue 6, Jun 1990

Resting refractive correction in ketamine-, pentobarbital-, or halothane-anesthetized rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys was approximately 1-3 diopters myopic, with little difference under the various anesthetic regimens. Topical cyclopentolate or atropine, or systemic hexamethonium eliminated much of the myopia, while epinephrine, phenylephrine and thymoxamine had little effect. Anesthesia-induced myopia in monkeys thus seems comparable to tonic accommodation (“night myopia”) in the human. Accommodation induced by electrical stimulation of the Edinger-Westphal nucleus averaged approximately 50% less under halothane than under pentobarbital, possibly due to halothane-induced systemic arterial hypotension.