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We studied the effect of perindopril (1%) on intraocular pressure (IOP) and compared it with the effect of pilocarpine, a therapeutic agent used in experimentally induced acute and chronic models of glaucoma in rabbits. Acute glaucoma was induced by intravenous administration of 5% glucose. Pretreatment with topical perindopril (1%) and pilocarpine (1%) prevented acute rise in IOP induced by intravenous administration of 5% glucose. For inducing chronic ocular hypertension in rabbits, 50 units of freshly prepared (alpha)-chymotrypsin in 0.1 mL of sterile saline was injected in the posterior chamber of the eye. Perindopril (1%) (35 (plus or minus) 1.38 mm Hg to 22.45 (plus or minus) 1.42 mm Hg) and pilocarpine (1%) (34.4 (plus or minus) 0.81 mm Hg to 20.15 (plus or minus) 0.69 mm Hg) produced a significant fall in IOP in these rabbits; pretreatment with indomethacin (prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor) did not affect the IOP-lowering action of perindopril (1%). Perindopril (2.71 x 10(-7) mol/L) and neostigmine (1.49 x 10(-7)mol/L) inhibited true cholinesterase and pseudocholinesterase enzyme activity in blood. The cholinesterase enzyme inhibition by perindopril was comparable with that by neostigmine. In conclusion, our data suggest that perindopril reduced IOP in experimentally induced acute and chronic glaucoma in rabbits. One of the possible mechanisms of perindopril, apart from the inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme, may be inhibition of the enzyme cholinesterase.
A. Mehta. Department of Pharmacology, L.M. College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad 380 009, India. dranitalmcp@gmail.com
11.14 Investigational drugs; pharmacological experiments (Part of: 11 Medical treatment)
5.3 Other (Part of: 5 Experimental glaucoma; animal models)
11.2 Cholinergic drugs (Part of: 11 Medical treatment)
3.8 Pharmacology (Part of: 3 Laboratory methods)