vision Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Eye Cells “Rewire” Themselves When Vision Begins to Fail

The AHA! Team — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 05:19:44 +0000

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences via Newswise – Mouse study reveals how retinal neurons adapt by forming new connections during early stages of inherited blindness Retinal cells can rewire themselves Scientists at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA have discovered that certain retinal cells can rewire themselves when vision begins to deteriorate in retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye disease that leads to progressive blindness. In a study using mouse models, researchers found that rod bipolar cells, neurons that normally receive signals from rods that provide night vision, can form new functional connections with cones that provide daytime vision when their usual partners stop working. The study appears in Current Biology. Why it matters Retinitis pigmentosa affects millions of people worldwide and is a leading cause of inherited blindness. While the disease often progresses slowly, with some patients maintaining a surprising amount of usable vision into middle age, little is known about how retinal circuits adapt to cell loss. Understanding these natural adaptation mechanisms could reveal new targets for treatments aimed at preserving vision. What the study did Researchers used rhodopsin knockout mice that model early retinitis pigmentosa, where rod cells cannot respond to light and degeneration proceeds slowly. They made electrical recordings from individual rod bipolar cells, neurons that normally connect to rods, to see how these cells behaved when their usual input was lost. The team also used additional mouse models lacking different components of rod signaling to determine what triggers the rewiring process. They supported their single-cell findings with whole-retina electrical measurements. What they found Rod bipolar cells in mice lacking functional rods showed large-amplitude responses driven by cone cells instead of their normal rod inputs. These rewired responses were strong and had the expected electrical characteristics of cone-driven signals. The rewiring occurred specifically in mice with rod degeneration, but not in other mouse models that lacked rod light responses without actual cell death. This suggests that the cellular rewiring is triggered by the degeneration process itself, rather than simply the absence of light responses or broken synapses. The findings complement the research team’s previous 2023 work showing that individual cone cells can remain functional even after severe structural changes in later disease stages. Together, these studies reveal that retinal circuits maintain function through different adaptation mechanisms at various stages of disease progression. The research shows that retinal adaptation occurs through different mechanisms at various disease stages, which could help scientists identify new targets for preserving vision in patients with inherited retinal diseases. From the experts “Our findings show that the retina adapts to the loss of rods in ways that attempt to preserve daytime light sensitivity in the retina,” said senior author A.P. Sampath, PhD of the UCLA Stein Eye Institute. “When the usual connections between rod bipolar cells and rods are lost, these cells can rewire themselves to receive signals from cones instead. The signal for this plasticity appears to be degeneration itself, perhaps through the role of glial support cells or factors released by dying cells.” What’s next One of the open questions is whether this rewiring represents a general mechanism used by the retina when rods die. The group is currently exploring this possibility with other mutant mice that carry mutations to rhodopsin and other rod proteins that are known to cause retinitis pigmentosa in humans. About the study Published in Current Biology (2025). “Photoreceptor degeneration induces homeostatic rewiring of rod bipolar cells.” DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.05.057 About the Research Team Paul J. Bonezzi, Rikard Frederiksen, Annabelle N. Tran, Kyle Kim, Gordon L. Fain, and Alapakkam P. Sampath from the Department of Ophthalmology, Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Paul J. Bonezzi and Rikard Frederiksen contributed equally to this work. Funding and Disclosures This work was supported by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health USA (EY36811 and EY01844) and an unrestricted grant by Research to Prevent Blindness to the UCLA Department of Ophthalmology. The authors have no disclosures. To read the original article click here.

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New Drug Shows Promise in Restoring Vision for People with Nerve Damage

The AHA! Team — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 05:24:11 +0000

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus via EurekAlert! – Research from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus reveals drug could potentially help repair vision in those with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions. Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have found a promising drug candidate that could help restore vision in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions that damage neurons. The study was published this week in the journal Nature Communications. The drug, LL-341070, enhances the brain’s ability to repair damaged myelin— the protective sheath around nerve fibers. Damage to myelin is a hallmark of diseases like MS, as well as a natural consequence of aging, often resulting in vision loss, loss of motor skills, and cognitive decline. The research, focused on vision, demonstrated that while the brain has some ability to repair itself when myelin is damaged, the process can be slow and inefficient. Researchers observed that LL-341070 significantly accelerated the repair process and improved brain function related to vision in mice, even after severe damage. “This research brings us closer to a world where the brain has the capacity to heal itself” “This research brings us closer to a world where the brain has the capacity to heal itself” said Ethan Hughes, PhD, co-lead author and associate professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the CU School of Medicine. “By harnessing this potential, we hope to help people with diseases like MS by potentially reversing some of the damage, offering people the opportunity to regain their vision and cognitive function.” Researchers discovered that the treatment makes the repair process is much more effective following serious damage, highlighting the importance of intervention with severe injury. Even partial repair of myelin was found to significantly improve vision-related brain functions. “We’ve known for years that myelin plays a crucial role in brain function” “We’ve known for years that myelin plays a crucial role in brain function,” said Daniel Denman, PhD, co-lead author of the study and assistant professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the CU School of Medicine. “This study highlights the role of cortical myelin in visual function. The drug could be a game-changer because it accelerates the brain’s natural repair mechanisms.” The researchers plan to test the drug in other areas of the brain and refine the treatment, hoping to make it even more effective and eventually accessible to patients. “This discovery is just the beginning,” Hughes said. “We are optimistic that LL-341070 and similar therapies could one day provide real, tangible benefits to patients by improving overall brain function and quality of life.” About the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is a world-class medical destination at the forefront of transformative science, medicine, education and patient care. The campus encompasses the University of Colorado health professional schools, more than 60 centers and institutes and two nationally ranked independent hospitals – UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado – which see more than two million adult and pediatric patient visits yearly. Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, the CU Anschutz Medical Campus delivers life-changing treatments, patient care and professional training and conducts world-renowned research fueled by $910 million in annual research funding, including $757 million in sponsored awards and $153 million in philanthropic gifts. Journal Nature Communications To read the original article click here.

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LASIK: What You Need to Know

The AHA! Team — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 05:04:15 +0000

Kourtney H. Houser, MD via Duke Health – Chances are, you know someone who has had LASIK surgery, or you may have considered the procedure yourself. Despite the allure of ditching daily eyewear, the decision to undergo this elective surgery is one most people understandably deliberate on for quite a while. Here, Duke corneal specialist Kourtney Houser. MD, explains what you need to know if you are considering LASIK surgery. Is LASIK as quick, easy, and painless as it’s sometimes described? Make no mistake — LASIK is surgery, and anyone who implies otherwise is not forthcoming. The surgeon creates a flap in the cornea, and a laser is used to reshape the underlying cornea. The surgery takes less than ten minutes, and patients feel pressure but no pain. However, that does not mean it is a simple procedure that just anyone can perform. Like any surgery, the experience of the surgeon is the most important factor in achieving the best results. What factors are important when considering LASIK? In addition to the surgeon’s experience, several elements are crucial to success with LASIK surgery. It starts with a thorough preoperative exam by a qualified surgeon and staff to ensure you are a good candidate. The quality of the surgical tools, such as the laser used, is also very important. We believe that having dedicated, on-site laser machines in a controlled operating room environment, where temperature and humidity are constantly monitored, contributes to better outcomes in our patients. We also have two different excimer laser platforms so that we can customize the procedure to each patient’s eye measurements and ensure the best vision possible. What complications are possible, and how common are they? Any eye procedure has a risk of vision loss, infection, or scarring, but thankfully this is very rare with LASIK. We actually think that the infection risk is less than that with contact lens wear over a patient’s lifetime, based on some reviews. Other risks include needing a second procedure, worsened dry eye, and development of pain or discomfort in the eyes, but most of these can be avoided by appropriate and in-depth pre-operative screening. Our rate of complications is extremely low, with the majority of them occurring less than 1% of the time. Our rates of enhancement (the need for additional laser adjustments) are under 2%. Who is not a good candidate for LASIK? Good question. There are people who are not candidates for LASIK surgery. In fact, I generally turn down roughly 20% of the prospective patients who come in for an evaluation. Some of the more common reasons include high refractive errors (nearsightedness or farsightedness), dry eyes, thin or abnormally shaped corneas, cataracts, and retinal problems from diabetes. The good news is that if you do not qualify for LASIK, Duke offers an array of alternative surgical procedures, such as PRK, phakic intraocular lenses, and cataract surgery with presbyopia- or astigmatism-correcting intraocular lenses. How long do improvements last? Improvements typically last a lifetime, though there can be some slight regression with time depending on your prescription. Also, most patients will develop a need for reading glasses as they reach their 40s and 50s–and while this doesn’t signify the LASIK “not working” anymore, it does usually require patients to wear glasses for some near tasks. What’s the bottom line when considering LASIK? LASIK is not for everybody, but those who are good candidates can experience a life-changing experience–independence from glasses or contact lenses and the freedom to see without correction for many years. As with any surgery, people should do their homework beforehand and choose a surgeon and facility in which they have confidence. To read the original article click here.

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3D Printing Your Own Personalized Contact Lenses

The AHA! Team — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 08:26:35 +0000

John Jeffay via Israel21c – Lensy envisions that within a few years, the optometrist will check your vision, press a button and hand you a perfect pair of custom contact lenses. Instant 3D-printed contact lenses are the future. You’ll go for an eye exam, the optometrist will check your vision, press a button, and within minutes you’ll have a pair of contact lenses that are a perfect fit and provide perfect vision. Leonardo da Vinci came up with the theoretical idea of contact lenses in 1508. They didn’t become a practical reality until the 1930s. Yet even now they haven’t really taken off. Three billion people globally wear glasses, but only 150 million opt for contacts. The reason: Price and comfort. Contact lenses work out to be far more expensive than eyeglasses, especially now that 90 percent of users choose disposables. And many people find they simply can’t wear them – because their eyes are the wrong shape. Eyes are a bit like feet, Edan Kenig, CEO at Israeli startup Lensy, tells ISRAEL21c. They come in different shapes and sizes. Yet off-the-shelf contact lenses are “one-size-fits-all” aside from the optical part in the center. So they more or less fit 70% of the world’s population, but for the other 30%, it’s just tough. That’s because the big players in the optical market use the same molds to mass-manufacture millions of lenses. Some inevitably end up being too loose, some too tight, depending on tiny but significant differences in eye shape and size. Kenig says his technology will solve both the price and comfort problems, and his lenses could be available to buy four years from now. Resin 3D “I would really like to wear contact lens for the whole day,” says Kenig, who is extremely short-sighted (a minus-11 prescription). “But now I’m limited to use them only for sport [he does Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu] for a few hours because it’s not comfortable for me.” He’s a biophysicist by training and later became an engineer and an entrepreneur, learning how to develop ideas into products. He saw the potential of an emerging technology called resin 3D-printing, a more sophisticated form of standard 3D printing. It uses UV light to “cure” or harden a resin, rather than squirting material through a nozzle to build objects layer by layer. Kenig and his small team, based in Rehovot, central Israel, have adapted a form of contact lens material and developed a technique to resin 3D-print it. They’ve got as far as printing a contact lens — and say they’re the first to have done so — but still need to perfect it before they can try it out in a human eye. Custom solutions Lensy is an early-stage startup founded in early 2022 with help from the Israel Innovation Authority. The company currently has no external funding. Big companies are also researching and developing printed lenses, says Kenig, but they’re planning what he calls “large, cumbersome, expensive printers” rather than the desktop version he’s working on. For the 70% of people with “normal” eyes, mass-produced lenses will likely remain the best option, he says. For the other 30%, tailored lenses will be a gamechanger. “The further away you are away from the average fit, the more problems you’re going to have, such as people with a high astigmatism, people with high myopia and people with peculiar eye shapes that are not round and not spherical. “The optometrist will then have the opportunity to make a custom solution so the patient will have an affordable, comfortable fit that’s tailored to their needs.” The machine will be available on a lease basis, using capsules that will cost the optometrist $50 per eye. The lenses will be reusable, although it’s possible that the technology will evolve to produce disposables. Like shoes “Contact lenses aren’t a new solution, yet they have many disadvantages that haven’t been resolved by better materials or better designs,” Kenig says. Around a fifth of wearers give up on them every year, he says. So although new users are always starting, the market is effectively stagnant. That’s partly to do with the cost – around $4 a day, he says – but largely because of the one-size-fits-all restriction. “It’s like going into a shoe store,” says Kenig, “and all the shoes are size nine [42 in Europe]. So if you’re size nine, great. If you’re size eight, you will have some problems. But if you’re seven or 11, it’ll be impossible.” Kenig says getting contact lenses today is time-consuming, cumbersome and labor-intensive, and the patient has to be really committed. Even a minor miscalculation means the optician will have to have the lenses redone. “If you have problem with your off-the-shelf contact lens, the optician will tell you to take glasses instead. They don’t have the tools to tailor your lenses.” In the future, Kenig says Lensy could make contact lenses that incorporate existing technology for kids that actually slows the progress of myopia as their eyes grow. Kenig also says lenses could one day be impregnated with slow-release drugs to avoid the need for painful eye injections, and smart contact lenses could be embedded with sensors and cameras. For more information, click here. To read the original article click here.

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Improving Vision with At-Home Brain Exercises

The AHA! Team — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 08:08:57 +0000

John Jeffay via Israel21c – RevitalVision offers a unique intervention for people with eyesight challenges, treating the brain where images are processed. Doctors told Amit Azulay again and again that she’d never be able to drive because of medical conditions affecting her eyesight. She proved them wrong — using a unique piece of software developed by a startup in Israel that has been clinically proven to improve vision. Despite suffering nystagmus (involuntary eye movements) and albinism, her eyesight became good enough to apply for a license (see her delighted response to the news here). Amit, aged 25, is one of many patients who say the online training exercises have literally changed their lives. RevitalVision offers a unique intervention for people with eyesight challenges. It doesn’t treat the eye. It treats the brain. The eye is the hardware, providing the best optical signal it can. But in many cases, the brain struggles to process that signal. That could be because of medical conditions including diabetes, glaucoma or AMD (age-related macular degeneration). It could be a cataract patient whose hardware has been upgraded (cloudy lenses replaced with clear ones) but whose software (the brain) hasn’t caught up. Or somebody who’s had laser surgery but now has blurry vision resulting from reduced contrast sensitivity and still has to wear glasses. Or somebody with “lazy eye” (amblyopia) whose brain sidelines signals from the eye that doesn’t work as well as the other. Or somebody who’s borderline for wearing glasses and would prefer not to. RevitalVision addresses all these problems, and more, with a structured program that trains the brain to better make sense of the blurry signals it receives. Screams of joy RevitalVision’s program typically involves three half-hour, at-home computer sessions per week for two or three months. Patients are trained via a dedicated app. The result, says Yair Yahav, the company’s CEO, is a measurable improvement in vision of 20% to 25%, equivalent to an extra two or more lines on a standard eye chart or, in many cases, the difference between a driving license and no license. “Some patients come to our premises in Modi’in [central Israel], where we have a team of optometrists,” he tells ISRAEL21c. “About once a week I hear screams of joy from a patient in another room who now has good enough vision to qualify for a driving license. We have people who are literally crying. “They’ve been told their whole life that there’s no way, forget it, you’ll never be able to drive. “Then they come to us and if they’re missing just one or two lines [on the eye chart], that’s the average, we tell them they have an 85% to 90% chance of success.” One patient testimonial is from a woman who couldn’t read the label on her medicine, or see well enough to sign a check. She now can. Another, a graduate student with congenital nystagmus, always had to sit at the front of the class to read the board. Now she can sit anywhere. “It’s really lifechanging for many, many people,” says Yahav. Image processing He explains the science behind what they do. “The quality of the image we see depends both on image capturing and image processing,” he says. “We don’t treat the lens of the eye; we treat the brain by enhancing its ability to process visual information, which results in significant vision improvement.” The brain training is based on a “Gabor patch,” which looks like a grid of blurry black and white stripes on a gray background. It was invented by Dennis Gabor, who was born in Hungary, fled the Holocaust, invented holography, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 1971. His seemingly simple image perfectly matches the shape of the receptive fields of neurons, or nerve cells, in the part of the brain that processes visual information. Repeatedly stimulating those neurons improves their performance, just like physical exercise at the gym builds muscle, says Yahav. Shoring up weaknesses RevitalVision uses an algorithm to understand exactly where the weaknesses lie for each patient. In a typical on-screen exercise, the patient sees three images pop up, two of a Gabor patch and one of a blank. They have to click, using their computer’s mouse, to indicate which is which. The exercises get harder and harder, with the Gabor patch appearing less clear or further toward the edge of the patient’s field of vision. All the time, the algorithm is assessing responses and adjusting the images it displays accordingly. “Our software maps the patient’s cortical deficits, neurons that do not respond well. Then the algorithm tailors specific stimulation to match those deficits,” says Yahav. “Once the patient is consistently answering correctly, the software knows that’s the exact threshold, the maximum vision of the patient in this exercise, and moves on to the next one. “We are training the neurons to be more responsive and restoring the basic mechanism of visual processing in the brain,” he says. FDA approved Yahav says RevitalVision has “the only regulated product approved by the FDA with clinical claims to improve vision for a variety of eye diseases and impairments.” Some products approved to treat amblyopia, he says, are not for those over the age of nine. RevitalVision builds on pre-Internet technology developed in Israel, which it acquired from another company. This technology was launched commercially two years ago as a web-based product available by direct purchase or through an eyecare specialist. So far, the company’s product has treated 15,000 patients. “We’ve raised $7 million so far and we’re raising another $6 million. Now we are scaling up,” says Yahav. The company received a grant from the Israel Innovation Authority during its product development stage, and is conducting trials at Shamir Medical Center associated with Tel Aviv University. It currently employs six people in Israel, six in India and one in the UK. The potential market is so huge that the biggest challenge right now is to spread the word, says Yahav. For more information, click here. To read the original article click here.

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Improving Vision with At-Home Brain Exercises

The AHA! Team — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 08:17:33 +0000

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New Connection Discovered Between Gut Microbiome and Eye Health

AHA Publisher — Wed, 05 May 2021 07:00:07 +0000

Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) via Newswise – Rockville, Md. – Preliminary research suggests possible application of manipulated gut bacteria may have therapeutic implications in treating age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The early model system is being presented at the 2021 Annual Meeting of The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), being hosted virtually this year. Dubbed the “gut-retina axis” by first author Sheldon Rowan, PhD, of the Nutrition and Vision Research team at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, the causal relationship between diet, the gut microbiome and eye disease had not yet been demonstrated. Therefore, Rowan has been conducting a series of experiments in mice to uncover the next steps to understand how gut microbiota affects eye health. In these experiments, mice that consumed western high glycemic (HG) diets developed multiple retinal lesions, consistent with the development of AMD-like disease. Lesions were associated with infiltration of retinal microglia/macrophages in the choroid and outer retina. Contrastingly, there were fewer lesions in mice consuming lower glycemic (LG) diets, or in HG-fed mice receiving fecal transplants from LG mice. Further, when mice were given antibiotics known to kill healthy gut bacteria, it led to degeneration of the retina and the retinal pigment epithelium in some mice. A combined analysis of fecal transplant and the antibiotic-based experiments revealed that retinal neuroprotection was associated with increased levels of Akkermansia, a commensal bacterium with known beneficial metabolic functions. HG-fed mice receiving LG fecal microbiota transplants also had improved glycemic control relative to HG-fed mice. Rowan’s studies confirm previously observed roles for commensal gut microbiota in mediating protection from diet-induced AMD. “Importantly, these protective effects could be transferred via fecal microbiota transplantation, indicating that microbiome-based therapies have therapeutic potential for AMD,” he explains. “Neuroprotection was associated with improved glycemic control, suggesting that metabolic reprogramming may be a critical component of the gut-retina axis, possibly via modulation of innate immune system function.” When asked about the potential implications of his research, Rowan says, “From the perspective of basic disease mechanisms, this research is opening up new avenues of investigation into AMD disease formation that might have been considered far-fetched in the past. The gut-retina axis is largely unexplored territory that includes components of the innate and adaptive immune systems. More work needs to be done to identify the precise mechanisms.” To read the original article click here.

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Jamal Can See Again, Thanks to New Synthetic Cornea

AHA Publisher — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 08:00:41 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – Jamal Furani from Haifa wasn’t able to see his new grandchild until January 3, when he became the first patient to receive the KPro artificial cornea from CorNeat Vision in Ra’anana. The 78-year-old Arab Israeli gradually lost most of his vision over the past decades due to corneal disease. He had four donor transplants to try to restore his vision, but all failed. Dr. Irit Bahar, chief of ophthalmology at Beilinson Hospital of Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, explained that each successive surgery has less chance of success. The synthetic cornea changed all that. The day after the KPro was introduced on January 3, Bahar said she was shocked at how well Furani was able to read a vision chart and to recognize family members. “The moment we took off the bandages was an emotional and significant moment. Moments like these are the fulfillment of our calling as doctors,” she said. As for Furani, he said to the doctors, “As much as you are happy, I am even happier. It’s my treasure” to be able to see. “The innovation here stems from the ability to take something totally synthetic that has no cells or tissue and implant it in the wall of the eye so that it essentially becomes part of the body,” CorNeat cofounder Dr. Gilad Litvin, inventor of the KPro, told Channel 13 news. Only last July, the first in-human trials of the CorNeat synthetic cornea were approved at Beilinson, as ISRAEL21c reported. Almog Aley-Raz, CorNeat Vision’s cofounder, CEO & VP R&D, said: “The CorNeat KPro’s first-in-human implantation is just the first step in a multinational clinical trial, geared toward attaining CE Mark, FDA clearance and China NMPA approval. “A total of 10 patients are approved for the trial at Rabin Medical Center in Israel with two additional sites planned to open this January in Canada and six others at different stages in the approval process in France, the US, and the Netherlands. “Our first trial includes blind patients who are not suitable candidates for — or have failed one or more — corneal transplantations. Given the exceptional visual performance of our device, the expected healing time and retention, and the fact that it cannot carry disease, we plan to initiate a second study later this year with broader indications to approve our artificial cornea as a first line treatment, displacing the use of donor tissue used in full thickness corneal transplantations.” To read the original article click here. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

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Researchers Discover Stem Cells in Optic Nerve That Preserve Vision

AHA Publisher — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 07:00:03 +0000

University of Maryland School of Medicine via EurekAlert – Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have for the first time identified stem cells in the region of the optic nerve, which transmits signals from the eye to the brain. The finding, published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), presents a new theory on why the most common form of glaucoma may develop and provides potential new ways to treat a leading cause of blindness in American adults. “We believe these cells, called neural progenitor cells, are present in the optic nerve tissue at birth and remain for decades, helping to nourish the nerve fibers that form the optic nerve,” said study leader Steven Bernstein, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “Without these cells, the fibers may lose their resistance to stress, and begin to deteriorate, causing damage to the optic nerve, which may ultimately lead to glaucoma.” The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Eye Institute (NEI), and a number of distinguished researchers served as co-authors on the study. More than 3 million Americans have glaucoma, which results from damage to the optic nerve, causing blindness in 120,000 U.S. patients. This nerve damage is usually related to increased pressure in the eye due to a buildup of fluid that does not drain properly. Blind spots can develop in a patient’s visual field that gradually widen over time. “This is the first time that neural progenitor cells have been discovered in the optic nerve. Without these cells, the nerve is unable to repair itself from damage caused by glaucoma or other conditions. This may lead to permanent vision loss and disability,” said Dr. Bernstein. “The presence of neural stem/progenitor cells opens the door to new treatments to repair damage to the optic nerve, which is very exciting news.” To make the research discovery, Dr. Bernstein and his team examined a narrow band of tissue called the optic nerve lamina. Less than 1 millimeter wide, the lamina lies between the light-sensitive retina tissue at the back of the eye and the optic nerve. The long nerve cell fibers extend from the retina through the lamina, into the optic nerve. What the researchers discovered is that the lamina progenitor cells may be responsible for insulating the fibers immediately after they leave the eye, supporting the connections between nerve cells on the pathway to the brain. The stem cells in the lamina niche bathes these neuron extensions with growth factors, as well as aiding in the formation of the insulating sheath. The researchers were able to confirm the presence of these stem cells by using antibodies and genetically modified animals that identified the specific protein markers on neuronal stem cells. “It took 52 trials to successfully grow the lamina progenitor cells in a culture,” said Dr. Bernstein, “so this was a challenging process.” Dr. Bernstein and his collaborators needed to identify the correct mix of growth factors and other cell culture conditions that would be most conducive for the stem cells to grow and replicate. Eventually the research team found the stem cells could be coaxed into differentiating into several different types of neural cells. These include neurons and glial cells, which are known to be important for cell repair and cell replacement in different brain regions. This discovery may prove to be game-changing for the treatment of eye diseases that affect the optic nerve. Dr. Bernstein and his research team plan to use genetically modified mice to see how the depletion of lamina progenitor cells contributes to diseases such as glaucoma and prevents repair. Future research is needed to explore the neural progenitors repair mechanisms. “If we can identify the critical growth factors that these cells secrete, they may be potentially useful as a cocktail to slow the progression of glaucoma and other age-related vision disorders.” Dr. Bernstein added. The work was supported by NEI grant RO1EY015304, and by a National Institutes of Health shared instrument grant 1S10RR26870-1. “This exciting discovery could usher in a sea change in the field of age-related diseases that cause vision loss,” said E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine. “New treatment options are desperately needed for the millions of patients whose vision is severely impacted by glaucoma, and I think this research will provide new hope for them.” To read the original article click here.

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