PACAP (1-38) alone in sham animals does not result in changes in any of the retinal layers. PACAP (1-38) dissolved in solutio ophthalmica cum benzalkonio leads to significant protection in the retina in bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO)-lesioned retinas; retinas treated with PACAP (1-38) eye drops have preserved structure compared to control retinas. OLM-ILM (outer limiting membrane-inner limiting membrane) distance is reduced by 49.7% (p<0.001) in BCCAO retinas compared to sham controls, but it is only 40.6% (p<0.001) in the eyes treated with PACAP (1-38) eye drops. A protection to a similar degree is found in the inner nuclear layer (INL) (BCCAO: 38.5%, PACAP (1-38): 30.5%; p<0.001), and inner plexiform layer (IPL) (BCCAO: 64.8%, PACAP (1-38): 38.2%; p<0.05), while no statistically significant attenuation of the damage is observed in the outer nuclear layer (ONL) (BCCAO: 36.5%, PACAP (1-38): 37.7%) or outer plexiform layer (OPL) (BCCAO: 53.0%, PACAP (1-38): 48.2%). The number of cells in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) is significantly decreased after BCCAO by 52.4% (p<0.05) and is significantly ameliorated by PACAP (1-38) eye drops (decreased by 25.9%; p<0.05).
Medlife has not independently confirmed the accuracy of these methods. They are for reference only.