Efecto neuroprotector de estatinas a dosis no hipolipemiantes en la retina y el nervio óptico de conejos hipercolesterolémicos

Abstract

La hipercolesterolemia constituye un factor de riesgo isquémico e inflamatorio en determinadas enfermedades neurodegenerativas. El colesterol, el principal lípido esteroide de la retina se distribuye por todas sus capas. El mantenimiento de la homeostasis del colesterol en la retina es indispensable para evitar el daño que genera su desequilibrio. La hipercolesterolemia sostenida genera una situación de isquemia crónica en la retina que daña no solo los componentes de la neurorretina, incluyendo las células gliales y los vasos sanguíneos, sino también, el complejo formado por el epitelio pigmentario de la retina, la membrana de Bruch y la coriocapilar...

Hypercholesterolaemia constitutes an ischaemic and inflammatory risk factor in certain neurodegenerative diseases. Cholesterol, the main steroid lipid in the retina, is distributed across all its layers, and maintaining cholesterol homeostasis in the retina is essential to prevent damage caused by its imbalance. Sustained hypercholesterolaemia leads to chronic retinal ischaemia which damages not only the components of the neuroretina, including glial cells and blood vessels, but also the complex formed by the retinal pigment epithelium, Bruch’s membrane and the choriocapillaris. Statins are lipid-lowering drugs whose use has been associated with a reduced risk of dementia, depression and open-angle glaucoma, among other conditions. In addition to lowerin gcholesterol levels, statins exert pleiotropic effects, not derived from their action on lipaemia, which may be neuroprotective...