Changes in ocular structure and in blood-ocular barrier permeability of experimental myopia induced in monkeys

We induced myopia by eyelid suturing in one eye each of six 9-month-old cynomolgus monkeys to elucidate the condition by studying changes in the ocular structure and the blood-ocular barrier (BOB) permeability. Optical elements were measured by A-mode ultrasonography; vitreous fluorophotometry was carried out to document BOB permeability before eyelid suturing and 3, 10, 16, and 28 months after suturing. The axial length of the sutured eyes increased significantly compared with that of the non-sutured contralateral eyes at 10 months after suturing and continued to lengthen with time. The dioptric power (D) of the sutured eyes changed in the same way. (mean, -3.08D 28 months after suturing). The permeability of the blood-retinal barrier of the sutured eyes significantly increased from 10 months after suturing compared with that of the fellow eyes, and continued to increase over the period of observation. The permeability index of the blood-aqueous barrier also increased significantly from only 16 months after suturing further increasing as the period of observation lengthened. We hypothesize that in the transition from emmetropia to myopia, the permeability of the BOB rises, and continue to rise as myopia develops. Thus, the breakdown of the BOB, i.e., the breakdown of the ocular homeostasis, is considered to be closely related to the occurrence and the development of myopia.