The Pupillary Light-Off Reflex in Acute Disorders of Consciousness.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In intensive care patients with disorders of consciousness, the pupillary light reflex is a measure of pupillary parasympathetic function. By contrast, the pupillary light-off reflex leads to pupil dilation in response to an abrupt change from light to darkness ("light-off") and reflects combined parasympathetic and sympathetic pupillary function. To our knowledge, this reflex has not been systematically investigated in patients with disorders of consciousness. We hypothesized that the pupillary light-off reflex correlates with consciousness levels after acute brain injury.

Methods

From November 2022 to March 2023, we enrolled 100 study participants: 25 clinically unresponsive (coma or unresponsive wakefulness syndrome) and 25 clinically low-responsive (minimally

SUBMITTER: Zarifkar P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11950040 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature