Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38936912›Full record

ArticleIn vivo (Athens, Greece)

Exploring Neuroprotective Effects of Topical Brimonidine in Experimental Diabetic Retinopathy.

Kyoung In Jung, Jie Hyun Kim, Jeong-Sun Han, Chan Kee Park

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in In vivo (Athens, Greece). The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Neuroprotection in Early Diabetic Retinal Disease Using Eyedrop Delivery.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Kyoung In JungDepartment of Ophthalmology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jie Hyun KimDepartment of Ophthalmology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jeong-Sun HanDepartment of Ophthalmology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Chan Kee ParkDepartment of Ophthalmology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea ckpark@catholic.ac.kr.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

aimDiabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness worldwide, characterized by neurovascular dysfunction. This study aimed to investigate the impact of brimonidine, a selective adrenoceptor agonist, on diabetic retinal neurodegeneration, recognizing the critical role of neurodegeneration in diabetic retinopathy. MATERIALS AND

methodsStreptozotocin-induced diabetes was established in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats to mimic diabetic retinopathy. Rats, except non-diabetic control rats, received topical applications of 0.15% brimonidine tartrate (treatment group) or balanced salt solution (diabetic control group) twice daily following diabetes induction. Each group comprised six randomly assigned animals. Retinal samples were analyzed using immunofluorescence staining, apoptosis assay, and western blot.

resultsTopical brimonidine treatment reduced apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells at 8 weeks after induction of diabetes (p<0.05). Glial activation induced by diabetes was reduced by brimonidine treatment. Immunoblot and immunofluorescence assay revealed that the decrease in phospho- protein kinase B (AKT) level resulting from diabetes was also attenuated by brimonidine (p<0.05). Furthermore, brimonidine alleviated the decrease in anti-apoptotic proteins [BCL2 apoptosis regulator (BCL2) and BCL-xl] induced by diabetes (p<0.05). Elevation of phospho-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) and p53 in diabetic rats were reduced by brimonidine (p<0.05). Additionally, brimonidine treatment attenuated the upregulation of the pro-apoptotic molecule BCL-2 associated X in retinas of diabetic rats (p<0.05).

conclusionThese findings suggest that topical brimonidine treatment may protect retinal ganglion cells in experimental diabetes by modulating the AKT pathway and reducing pro-apoptotic p38MAPK levels. This presents a potential neuroprotective approach in diabetes, offering the advantage of localized treatment without the added burden of oral medication.

Indexed as

ApoptosisBrimonidine TartrateDiabetes Mellitus, ExperimentalDiabetic RetinopathyNeuroprotective AgentsRetinal Ganglion CellsAdministration, TopicalAnimalsDisease Models, AnimalMaleProto-Oncogene Proteins c-aktRatsRats, Sprague-DawleyRetinaBrimonidine TartrateNeuroprotective AgentsProto-Oncogene Proteins c-aktAderenergic agonistbrimonidinediabetic retinopathyneuroprotectionretinal ganglion cell

Identifiers

PMID38936912
PMCPMC11215565

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.