title: Progesterone treatment in two rat models of ocular ischemia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether the neurosteroid progesterone, shown to have protective effects in animal models of traumatic brain injury, stroke, and spinal cord injury, is also protective in ocular ischemia animal models.
  
  
  METHODS
  Progesterone treatment was tested in two ocular ischemia models in rats: a rodent anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (rAION) model, which induces permanent monocular optic nerve stroke, and the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model, which causes transient ischemia in both the retina and brain due to an intraluminal filament that blocks the ophthalmic and middle cerebral arteries. Visual function and retinal histology were assessed to determine whether progesterone attenuated retinal injury in these models. Additionally, behavioral testing and 2% 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining in brains were used to compare progesterone's neuroprotective effects in both retina and brain using the MCAO model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Progesterone treatment showed no effect on visual evoked potential (VEP) reduction and retinal ganglion cell loss in the permanent rAION model. In the transient MCAO model, progesterone treatment reduced (1) electroretinogram (ERG) deficits, (2) MCAO-induced upregulation of glutamine synthetase (GS) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and (3) retinal ganglion cell loss. As expected, progesterone treatment also had significant protective effects in behavioral tests and a reduction in infarct size in the brain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Progesterone treatment showed protective effects in the retina following MCAO but not rAION injury, which may result from mechanistic differences with injury type and the therapeutic action of progesterone.
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States 2Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States 3Atlanta VA Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation, Decatur, Georgia, United States.
authors.forename: Rachael S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
authors.forename: Timothy W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Olsen
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
authors.forename: Iqbal
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sayeed
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
authors.forename: Heather A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Cale
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
authors.forename: Katherine C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
authors.forename: Yuliya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oumarbaeva
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lucaciu
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States 3Atlanta VA Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation, Decatur, Georgia, United States.
authors.forename: Jeffrey H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Boatright
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States 3Atlanta VA Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation, Decatur, Georgia, United States.
authors.forename: Machelle T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Pardue
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
authors.forename: Donald G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods; D004596:Electroretinography / Q000187:drug effects / Q000379:methods; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000187:drug effects; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007511:Ischemia / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018917:Optic Neuropathy, Ischemic / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011374:Progesterone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D011374:Progesterone