Visuelle Regeneration als Ziel für das Glaukom

V. Chrysostomou, R. J. Hatch, T. Colgan, J. P. Paul, P. van Wijngaarden, I. Trounce, M. I. G. Lopez Sanchez, K. Bell, F. Grus, J. G. Crowston

Visual recovery is an established but poorly studied phenomenon in glaucoma. To provide insights into functional recovery of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) with a view to providing information on the development of forms of treatment that improve RGC function after injury. A model of recoverable RGC function in the mouse eye, induced by short-term elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP). The RGCs manifest near complete functional recovery after a prolonged period of dysfunction following acute IOP elevation. Increasing age and a high fat diet were subsequently found to impair recovery, whereas exercise substantially improved recovery such that older mice recovered in a similar way to young mice. Injured RGCs have the capacity to restore function after periods of functional impairment. Therapies that specifically target injured RGCs and enhance their capacity to recover function may provide a new approach for treating glaucoma.