Characteristics of the Retina in Chronic Stress in Laboratory Rats of Different Age Groups

The retinas of white male laboratory rats of two age groups (12 and 24 months; 10 animals in each group) subjected to chronic combined stress were studied. Animals were subjected to stress by simultaneous exposure to pulsatile light, loud noise, shaking, and movement restriction for 30 min/day for seven days. Controls consisted of retinas from intact rats of the same age (n = 20). Enucleated eyes from stressed and control animals were processed by standard histological methods; sections were stained by the Nissl method and with hematoxylin and eosin. Retinas from stressed animals of both age groups were characterized by decreases in the numbers of cells and deranged ordering of cell layers, most marked in the photoreceptor neuron and ganglion cell layers. Morphometric analysis demonstrated decreases in layer thicknesses and the numerical densities of cells in the retinas of stressed animals, both young (12 months) and old (24 months), as compared with control animals.

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