Effects of finasteride on expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and microvascular density in retina of early diabetic rats

AIM: To investigate the effects of finasteride on expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)and microvascular density (MVD) in retina of early diabetic rats. METHODS: Twenty four early diabetic rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: group A (control group), group B(acarbose 2 mg·kg -1 ),group C(acarbose 2 mg·kg -1 +finasteride 0.1 mg·kg -1 ),and group D(acarbose 2 mg·kg -1 +finasteride 0.2 mg·kg -1 ). After 30 d of drug treatment, the rats were euthanized and their retinas examined. The expression of VEGF and MVD were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Expression of VEGF was 100 % (12/12 eyes) in both groups A and B, whereas it decreased to 8 %(1/12) in group C, and to 0 in group D. Expression of MVD was very significant difference in the four groups ( P 0.01). CONCLUSION: Finasteride is effective to prevent the VEGF expression and microvascular development in retina of early diabetic rats.