Lipofuscin in retinal pigment epithelium of rhesus monkey: lack of diminution with centrophenoxine treatment.

An experiment was performed to test the ability of Centrophenoxine to reduce the amount of lipofuscin (age pigment) in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of aged rhesus monkeys. Centrophenoxine is reputed to have this action in neurons of lower mammals. Quantitative electron microscopic analysis was performed on sections from the perifovea of ten rhesus monkeys, all approximately 20 years of age. Four of the animals received 80 mg/kg Centrophenoxine (IM injection) daily for 12 weeks. No significant difference between the treated and control groups could be demonstrated statistically (Mann-Whitney U-test) either in the fraction of RPE cell cytoplasm occupied by lipofuscin granules or in the average size of the granules.