Pretreatment with bendazac attenuates retinal damage induced by intense light in rats

• Published in: Pharmacological research 1991-07, Vol.24 (1), p.105-112
• Main Authors: Barcellona, P. Scorza, Campana, A., Caranti, S., D'Onofrio, E., Silvestrini, B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - pharmacology; Atrophy; bendazac; Biological and medical sciences; Eye; Eye Injuries - prevention & control; Indazoles - pharmacology; Light - adverse effects; light-induced retinal damage in rats; Male; Medical sciences; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Retina - pathology; Retina - radiation effects
• ISSN: 1043-6618; 1096-1186
• DOI: 10.1016/1043-6618(91)90070-E

Bendazac is a drug which protects proteins from denaturation induced by different agents. It is also effective in protecting rabbits from X-ray-induced cataract. This study deals with the effects of bendazac on the intense light-induced retinal damage in rats. Four groups of animals received orally 0, 50, 100 or 200 mg/kg of bendazac l-lysine salt three times a day for 3 days and once the fourth day, before 1 h exposure to intense-green filtered light. Fourteen days after housing in a dark room, the rats were sacrificed and the retinae were examined by light microscopy. Retinal damage was graded according to a score severity from 0 to 5. The mean score for control animals was 2.23, whereas a dose-related and statistically significant reduction of retinal damage was detected in bendazac treated rats, i.e. 1.72, 1.54 and 1.40. A protective activity in the distribution of the severity score, i.e. a higher incidence of no damaged retinae and a lower frequency in the most severely affected ones, was also observed in treated versus control rats. These results suggest a potential therapeutic value of bendazac in the treatment of those conditions, such as retinitis pigmentosa and senile macular degeneration, in which the light exposure plays a role as a co-factor.