Evaluation of intravitreal injection of pentoxifylline in experimental endotoxin-induced uveitis in rabbits

The objective of the present study was to investigate the clinical and histopathological effects of intravitreal injection of pentoxifylline (PTX) the management of an experimental model of uveitis. Fifty-two rabbits were divided randomly into six intravitreal treated groups as below: 1) Balanced salt solution (BSS), 2) Salmonella typhimurium lipopolysaccharide endotoxin (LPS) + BSS, 3) LPS + PTX 100 μg, 4) LPS + PTX 500 μg, 5) BSS + PTX 100 μg and 6) BSS + PTX 500 μg. Inflammation was evaluated by clinical examinations using slit lamp on days 1, 3, 5 and 7 post injections and histopathological examinations were also performed at the end of the study. Clinical examinations demonstrated a statistically significant difference between group 1 and group 2 on day 5 and day 7. Moreover, the comparison of clinical severity scores of group 1 with groups 3, 4, 5 and 6, on third, fifth and seventh post-injection days showed statistically significant differences. The mean histopathological inflammation intensity score in groups 5 and 6 was significantly higher than group 1. The mean histopathological inflammation intensity score in groups 3, 4, 5 and 6 was significantly higher than group 2. Intravitreal injection of PTX in an experimental model of uveitis in rabbits not only does not reduce inflammation but also leads to inflammation when used alone or in combination with LPS.