Evaluation of a possible cocataractogenic potential of Ofloxacin

Ofloxacin, a new antibiotic of the group of quinolones, was tested for its possible cocataractogenic potential. Two cataract models of the rat, the naphthalene cataract and the true diabetic cataract were used, cataract development in-vivo was monitored with the slit lamp microscope and documented with the Scheimpflug camera Topcon SL-45. After a six weeks observation and treatment period, where Ofloxacin was dosed with 20 mg/kg body weight daily with a stomach tube, the animals were sacrificed and their lenses used for biochemical analyses. Although the results of Scheimpflug photography showed that the combination of the 2 cataract models together with the Ofloxacin treatment lead to higher densities in the cortical layer, a marked cocataractogenic potential could not be demonstrated. Also the biochemical data made it evident, that Ofloxacin has no obvious cocataractogenic potential, neither single nor in combination with 1 or 2 cataract models.