Transitory models of experimentally induced intraocular pressure changes in the rabbit. A reappraisal

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between inducer dosage, animal weight, and kinetics intraocular pressure (IOP) changes in three transitory-induced models for antiglaucoma drugs screening: oral water-loading, 5% glucose intravenous administration, and 20% NaCl infusion. For these models, a dose-dependent elevation of IOP was observed in three weight groups of rabbits (1, 2.2, and 3.8 kg). Dose-effect relationships were established, considering for each weight group two relevant parameters: maximal IOP changes and areas under or upper the kinetic curves of IOP changes. Among the three models studied, our results led us to consider water-loading as a weight-independent model, allowing us to compare results obtained by this model in New Zealand rabbits with different ages (40-150 days) or weights (0.9-3.8 kg).