Citicoline retards myopia progression following form deprivation in guinea pigs

The retinal dopaminergic system is involved in the myopic shift following form deprivation. Citicoline has been demonstrated to stimulate the dopaminergic system in the brain and retina. Furthermore, citicoline has been used in many neurogenic diseases, such as senile cognitive impairment, stroke and Parkinson's disease as well as in amblyopia and glaucoma. Our aim was to investigate the effect of citicoline on the refractive state and retinal dopamine level in form deprivation myopia of guinea pigs. Guinea pigs, at an age of four weeks, were randomly divided into normal control, deprivation, deprived + citicoline and deprived + vehicle groups. Form deprivation myopia was induced by a translucent eye shield covering the right eye. Citicoline was injected intraperitoneally twice a day (500 mg/kg, 9 am and 9 pm) for 10 days. In vitro, retinal explants were cultured with citicoline for 24 h, with a final citicoline concentration of 100 µmol/L. The ocular refractive parameters and retinal dopamine content were measured. After occlusion for 10 days, the form-deprived eyes became myopic with an increase in axial length and a decrease in retinal dopamine content. The intraperitoneal injection of citicoline reduced the myopic degree (from −3.25 ± 0.77D to −0.62 ± 0.47D, P < 0.001) and partially raised retinal dopamine levels (from 0.55 ± 0.21 ng to 0.81 ± 0.24 ng, P < 0.01) in the form-deprived eyes. After 24 h of culturing retinal explants with citicoline, retinal dopamine content increased significantly (from 0.42 ± 0.14 ng to 0.62 ± 0.21 ng, P < 0.05). These results demonstrated that an intraperitoneal injection of citicoline could retard the myopic shift induced by form deprivation in guinea pigs, which was mediated by an increase in the retinal dopamine levels.