Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy in which retinal ganglion cells die probably through an apoptotic process. Apoptosis is known to involve free radicals in several systems including the retina. In this context, the aim of the present work was to analyze retinal oxidative damage in rats with glaucoma induced by the chronic injection of hyaluronic acid in the eye anterior chamber. The results showed a significant decrease in total retinal superoxide dismutase and catalase activities after 6 and 3 weeks of treatment with hyaluronic acid, respectively. Also, although GPX activity increased after 10 weeks of ocular hypertension, GSH levels significantly decreased at 6 weeks of treatment with hyaluronic acid. Moreover, retinal lipid peroxidation significantly increased in a time-of-hypertension-dependent manner. On the other hand, a significant decrease in both diurnal and nocturnal retinal melatonin content was detected at 3, 6, or 10 weeks of treatment with hyaluronic acid. The present results suggest that retinal oxidative stress may be involved in glaucomatous cell death. Thus, manipulation of intracellular redox status using antioxidants may be a new therapeutic tool to prevent glaucomatous neurodegeneration.
PMID: 15384194 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Free Radic Biol Med. 2004 Sep 15;37(6):803-12.
Retinal oxidative stress induced by high intraocular pressure.
Moreno MC, Campanelli J, Sande P, Sanez DA, Keller Sarmiento MI, Rosenstein RE.
Laboratorio de Neuroquimica Retiniana y Oftalmologia Experimental, Departmento de Bioquimica Humana, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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