Authors

10.4103/jasmr.jasmr_38_18

Abstract


Chloroquine (CQ) is a useful drug. It has less systemic hazards than many of the other medications used for immune diseases, but may cause retinopathy. The ophthalmologists do not discover the retinopathy till the appearance of bull's eye. The aim of the work is to try to use electroretinogram (ERG) and its b/a ratio in early detection of CQ retinopathy for pigmented rabbits chronically treated with CQ.



Twenty adult pigmented rabbits (1.5–2 kg) were classified into four groups (five each): the first group served as control and the other three groups of rabbits were intramuscularly injected with CQ diphosphate (14 mg/kg body weight) three times/week for 50, 70, and 90 days, respectively. Each group is subjected to ERG recording, and then decapitation of animal and measurement of oxidant, antioxidant parameters, and histopathological examination in the retinal tissue were done.



All results show no change by the 50th day after CQ administration. All the changes appear by the 70th day. The data indicated there is a deformation in ERG waves and significant decrease (<0.05) in b/a ratio. Significant increase (<0.05) in malondialdehyde level, and in the same context, significant decreases (<0.05) in superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase activity were seen. The histopathological changes are in the form of vacuolation in the pigment epithelium, destruction in the outer segments of the photoreceptor layer, and signs of karyolysis in some nuclei of outer nuclear layer.



Our data showed the possibility of using b/a ratio as an early indicator to CQ retinal toxicity in pigmented rabbits. It is also suggested that CQ increases the oxidative stress levels, so supplementation by antioxidants should be a part of the treatment regime.

Keywords

Journal of the Arab Society for Medical Research
Volume 14, Issue 1
January 2019
Pages 1-6

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