Abstract
Purpose: Atovaquone is used in the treatment of toxoplasmosis and pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Bioavailability following oral dosage is relatively poor. Because active toxoplasmosis is frequently limited to the eye we evaluated intravitreal atovaquone. Methods: A sustained - release preparation of 2.5 mg of atovaquone in Healon™ was injected into the vitreous of the right eye of 15 NZW rabbits. The control left eye of each of these rabbits received an injection of Healon™ only. Toxicity was assessed by serial clinical examinations and electroretinograms, and animals were sacrificed at 13 weeks for histopathologic analysis. Vitreous levels of atovaquone were measured by HPLC at 1 week. Results: On clinical examination, there was no evidence of toxicity. ERG'S remained normal for the duration of the study. Visible drug was present at 13 weeks after the injection. Light microscopic analysis showed no evidence of retinal toxicity. Intravitreal atovaquone concentration at 1 week was about 1.26 μg/ml. Conclusions: Atovaquone is non - toxic to the rabbit eye when delivered as an intravitreal injection. Local delivery may be an alternative for the treatment of toxoplasma retinochoroiditis.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | S367 |
| Journal | Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| State | Published - Feb 15 1996 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ophthalmology
- Sensory Systems
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience