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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
Use of Rabbit Eyes in Pharmacokinetic Studies of Intraocular Drugs
Published on: July 23, 2016
Influence of dehydroepiandrosterone on rabbit intraocular pressure
E C Kearse1, O L McIntyre, M H Johnson
1Department of Ophthalmology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912-3400, USA.
Purpose:
The systemic concentration of dehydroepiandrosterone decreases with age in primates while in humans intraocular pressure (IOP) increases with aging. This study was designed to investigate if a relationship existed between dehydroepiandrosterone and IOP in pigmented rabbits.
Methods:
Animals were treated unilaterally for 6 weeks with topical 3% dehydroepiandrosterone in 30% 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin; the contralateral eye received vehicle alone. Drops were applied, and IOP measured, twice daily.
Results:
Small, but statistically significant, drug-related effects were found. IOP was consistently higher in the afternoon; the afternoon minus morning difference in IOP, however, decreased with time. Topical, radioactive drug application indicated very low level penetration into aqueous humor, iris, corneal epithelium, the rest of the cornea, or bulbar conjunctiva.
Conclusion:
The small drug-related effects may be due, in large part, to poor intraocular drug penetration. The circadian rhythm of IOP appears to be time-dependent in chronic studies with a gradual loss of IOP difference between a.m. and p.m. readings.
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