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Morphological Basis of Desympathization of the Eye as a New Means of Experimental Modeling of Cataract

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The aim of the present work was to assess the morphological basis of desympathization of the eye as a method of modeling cataract in vivo. Experiments were performed using 20 mongrel rabbits with bilateral removal of the superior cervical ganglion of the sympathetic trunk, which induced changes in the tone of the sympathetic compartment of the animal’s nervous system. At 5–7 months, biomicroscopy of the anterior compartment of both eyes in 16 of the 20 rabbits showed the initial signs of opacification of the lens cortex. At 12–14 months, the area increased significantly, forming wedge-shaped opacities with bases facing the periphery of the lens, with dissociation of lens fibers and extracellular fluid accumulation. Histological and phenotypic changes in the lens were analogous to changes seen in age-related cortical cataract in humans. Both age-related cataract and cataract as modeled here showed clear immunopositive reactions to neurospecific enolase, vimentin, and S-100 protein in the lens cortex. This method of modeling cortical cataract can be used in studies of the pathogenesis of cataract and for developing methods for its prophylaxis and treatment.

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Correspondence to N. V. Korsakova.

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Translated from Morfologiya, Vol. 140, No. 6, pp. 48–52, November–December, 2011.

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Korsakova, N.V., Grigoriev, V.N. & Sergeeva, V.E. Morphological Basis of Desympathization of the Eye as a New Means of Experimental Modeling of Cataract. Neurosci Behav Physi 42, 1024–1028 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-012-9673-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-012-9673-0

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