Patent ID: 7109208

Claim:
A method of promoting extension of axon of a retinal ganglion cell, which comprises administering an effective amount of a compound having Rho kinase inhibitory activity to a patient wherein the compound having Rho kinase inhibitory activity is an amide compound represented by the formula (I) wherein Ra is a group of the formula in the formula (b), R is hydrogen, alkyl, or cycloalkyl, cycloalkylalkyl, phenyl or aralkyl, which optionally has a substituent on the ring, or a group of the formula wherein R 6 is hydrogen, alkyl or formula:—NR 8 R 9 wherein R 8 and R 9 are the same or different and each is hydrogen, alkyl, aralkyl or phenyl, R 7 is hydrogen, alkyl, aralkyl, phenyl, nitro or cyano, or R 6 and R 7 in combination show a group forming a heterocycle optionally further having, in the ring, oxygen atom, sulfur atom or optionally substituted nitrogen atom, R 1 is hydrogen, alkyl, or cycloalkyl, cycloalkylalkyl, phenyl or aralkyl, which optionally has a substituent on the ring, or R and R 1 in combination form, together with the adiacent nitrogen atom, a group forming a heterocycle optionally further having, in the ring, oxygen atom, sulfur atom or optionally substituted nitrogen atom, R 3 and R 4 are the same or different and each is hydrogen, alkyl, aralkyl, halogen, nitro, amino, alkylamino, acylamino, hydroxy, alkoxy, aralkyloxy, cyano, acyl, mercapto, alkylthio, aralkylthio, carboxy, alkoxycarbonyl, carbamoyl, mono- or dialkylcarbamoyl or azide, and A is a group of the formula wherein R 10 and R 11 are the same or different and each is hydrogen, alkyl, haloalkyl, aralkyl, hydroxyalkyl, carboxy or alkoxycarbonyl, or R 10 and R 11 show a group which forms cycloalkyl in combination and 1, m and n are each 0 or an integer of 1–3, Rb is a hydrogen, an alkyl, an aralkyl, an aminoalkyl or a mono- or dialkylaminoalkyl; and Rc is an optionally substituted 6-membered ring containing one nitrogen atom, an isomer thereof and/or a pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt thereof.