The Effect of Noopept on Neurochemical Changes in the Retina during the Experimental Thrombosis of Its Vessels

Abstract

We studied the effect of the neuroprotective dipeptide drug noopept on the level of biogenic amines in the retina during the thrombosis of its vessels in experiments with male chinchilla rabbits. Ischemic lesion of the retina was modeled by intravenous administration of rose bengal at a dose of 40 mg/kg body weight followed by 10-min transpupillary focal illumination of the temporal vascular arcade with white light. Noopept was injected intravenously immediately after the thrombosis modeling at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg body weight; then, throughout the entire experiment (up to 14 days) it was administered per os three times a day at a dose of 10 mg/kg body weight. It has been demonstrated that ischemia causes the following disturbances in the neurotransmitter balance in the retina: an increase in the aspartate and GABA levels, a decrease in the dopamine and taurine levels, and a decrease followed by an increase in the glycine level. Noopept administration led to the normalization of the GABA, glycine, and aspartate levels and an increase in the dopamine content.