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[A study on susceptibility of different layers of rabbit retina to ocular hypertension]
1Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou 510060, China.
Objective:
To investigate the histological damage and its degrees of different layers of rabbit retina induced by ocular hypertension.
Methods:
The intraocular pressure (IOP) was elevated by intracameral injection of 0.10 - 0.15 ml of 2% methylcellulose in sixteen gray rabbits. The rabbit eyes were enucleated, fixed, and paraffin-embedded. For histological evaluation, the slides were stained with hematoxylin-eosin, examined by light microscopic and computer automatic image analysis.
Results:
The quantitative analysis indicated that all of the retinal layers have different degrees of histopathological damage. Among them, the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) were most severely damaged, with the decrease rate of 74.3% and 61.9%, respectively. The decrease rates of other retinal layers were as follows: the retinal inner layer, 42.4%; the whole sensory layer of the retina, 35.0% and the outer layer, 24.2%. We also found a significant correlation between RGCs loss and RNFL thinning (r = 0.68, P < 0.01), demonstrating a strong correlation between IOP level and RNFL thickness (F = 8.97, P < 0.01).
Conclusion:
All of the anatomic layers of retina can suffer from degeneration and atrophy at different degrees.
