Figure 2

α2 agonists are neuroprotective against RGC death in vivo. (a) Rats had IOP surgically elevated in one eye (OHT os) in an established model of ocular hypertension (OHT). IOP was significantly increased in untreated control (n=10) and systemic BMD-treated groups (n=10) compared with no-OHT (contralateral eyes), up to 3 weeks after surgery. In comparison, systemic Clo treatment significantly reduced IOP (n=10). (b) α2A agonist treatment (BMD, Clo) significantly decreased RGC apoptosis compared with untreated controls at 3 (43-fold and 50-fold reduction for BMD and Clo, respectively) and 8 (14-fold and 13-fold reduction for BMD and Clo, respectively) weeks after surgery. (c–e) Representative DARC images showing the in vivo retinal image of an untreated OHT (c) compared with BMD (d) and Clo-treated (e) rats at 3 weeks after IOP elevation. Each white spot represents an individual retinal ganglion cell undergoing apoptosis that is positive for fluorescently labelled annexin A5. (a) and (b) show means±S.E.M.; **P<0.01, ***P<0.001