Dear Sir,
Thank you very much for your important comment. We apologize for not heaving noticed the contributions that you have mentioned, which – for the most part – regard the neuroprotective properties of alpha-2-agonists in glaucomatous neurodegeneration of retinal ganglion cells. The goal of our study was to investigate the effect of a conventional (single application, standard regime) anesthesic protocol on outer retinal degeneration induced by light. Indeed, the fact that a "single" intraperitoneal dose prior to light exposition is enough to protect the outer retina form light induced damage still seems a novel finding with considerable impact on many commonly used experimental paradigms. Nevertheless, we are grateful for your comments also about the role of the bFGF pathway in the Xylazin induced neuroprotection, which are certainly very convincing.
Sincerely,
The authors
