MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. Pharmacologists at Belgorod National Research University have developed a drug to prevent optic nerve damage leading to glaucoma. This was reported by the university's press service.
According to medical research, hyperactivation of glutamate receptors leads to the damage and death of retinal ganglion cells - the largest projection neurons that convey information to the brain. This process is one of the key factors in the development of glaucoma, a disease that is accompanied by the destruction of the retina and optic nerve. Ophthalmologists consider it a major cause of irreversible blindness.
"The experimental pharmacology invention prevents structural damage to retinal ganglion cells, which may prevent the development of glaucoma," the press service said.
Pharmacological correction of glaucoma using predominantly magnesium compounds with antihypoxic, neuroprotective and hypocoagulative action, which are currently widely used, has its limitations, according to Anna Pobeda, Candidate of Sciences in Biology, Associate Professor of the Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology. As a rule, this type of treatment is offered only for the correction of optic neuropathy. In addition, there are no experimental data on the effect of the compound on the processes of neuronal damage in the retina.
The method of preventing retinal nerve cell damage proposed by scientists at the Research Institute of Pharmacology of the Living Systems of Belgorod State University is based on the use of a new dimethylaminoethanol derivative under the laboratory code DMAE 10-19. The effectiveness of the agent was proven in tests on laboratory Wistar rats in compliance with the "European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for experiments or other scientific purposes" and ethical standards.
The efficiency of the treatment was evaluated by studying the retinal ganglion cell layer using the "alteration coefficient". According to Nikolay Solovyov, a postgraduate student of the Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology at the Belgorod National Research University, the results of the laboratory study proved the effectiveness of the experimental drug, and the coefficient of variation obtained indicates the presence of the reduction of retinal ganglion cell damage in animals. The method prevents the development of morphological disorders in the group of rats with the pathology model, which indicates the neuroprotective activity of the new compound and proves its efficiency.