Figure 1.

Azithromycin reduces RGC death following retinal ischemia/reperfusion injury. Representative fluorescent photomicrograph of whole-mount retinas showing the effect of intraperitoneal injection of azithromycin (150 mg/kg) on retinal ganglion cell (RGC) survival following retina ischemia. Scale bar = 75 μm. A: Histogram shows the average number of surviving RGCs per retina and (B–C) the reduction of RGC death in azithromycin-treated retinas compared to vehicle. Twenty images per retina were acquired, and Fluoro-Gold (FG)-labeled cells were counted. The total number of labeled cells in the ischemic eye was compared with the contralateral, non-ischemic eye and expressed as absolute values per mm² (B) and percentage of RGC loss (C). Results were reported as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM; n = 4; *p<0.05; ***p<0.001, Student t test). AZM = azithromycin-treated rats; VEH = vehicle-treated rats; L = left, non-ischemic eye; R = right, ischemic/reperfused eye.