regional medical center: Researchers Regenerate Optic Nerve In Mice

Researchers Regenerate Optic Nerve In Mice

Editor's Choice
Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Article Date: 25 May 2012 - 13:00 PDT

email to a friend Â

printer friendly Â

opinions Â <!--

rate article
Patient / Public: not yet rated

Healthcare Prof: not yet rated

Individuals blinded by optic nerve damage from glaucoma or trauma might be able to regain at least some visual function in the future after researchers have successfully regenerated the optic nerve in mice.

Using a combination of three methods, Larry Benowitz, Ph.D., and his team at the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Boston Children's Hospital, were able to restore some depth perception in mice with severe optic nerve damage. In addition, they found that the mice regained the ability to detect overall movement of the visual field, and perceive light. The study is published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Although earlier studies have shown that optic nerve fibers can regenerate some distance through the optic nerve, this study is the first to demonstrate that these fibers can be made to grow long enough to go from eye to brain.

The researchers found that the fibers are able to find their way to the correct visual centers in the brain, are wrapped in the conducting insulation known as myelin, and can make connections (synapses) with other neurons, allowing visual circuits to re-form.

Nareej Agarwal, Ph.D., of the National Eye Institute, explained:

"Dr. Benowitz and his group have, for the first time, established proof-of-concept that a damaged optic nerve can regenerate and attain lost function. This is an important advance in an effort to reverse vision loss in glaucoma and other neurodegenerative diseases."

The researchers combined three methods of activating the growth state of neurons in the retina and found they had a synergistic effect on growth of optic nerve fibers.

Benowitz, who is also a director of the Laboratories for Neuroscience Research in Neurosurgery at Boston Children's Hospital, said:

"Sixteen years ago, people said it was impossible to get any regeneration in the optic nerve. Our study regenerated only a small percentage of the total number of fibers that would normally come into the brain, but it answers questions that have been real unknowns in the field."

Although some basic elements of vision were restored in the mice, the ability to discriminate objects was probably not, said Benowitz.

He continues: "What lies behind what we call seeing is very complicated - so many subsystems contribute to seeing. We're in a sense just scratching the surface about functional recovery."

The researchers found that:

Treated mice were able synchronize their sleep/wake cycles.
In a depth perception test, mice with regeneration were less likely to walk off the edge of a plexiglass platform above a checkerboard pattern than untreated mice.
When treated mice were put on a platform surrounded by rotating vertical stripes, they moved their heads reflexively to follow the pattern.

According to Benowitz, the molecular manipulations the team conducted in the mice would need to be altered in order to develop an actual treatment for patients.

Benowitz said:

"The eye turns out to be a feasible place to do gene therapy. The viruses used to introduce various genes into nerve cells mostly remain in the eye. Retinal ganglion cells are easily targetable."

Written By Grace Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Additional

References

Citations

"Full-length axon regeneration in the adult mouse optic nerve and partial recovery of simple visual behaviors"
Silmara de Lima, Yoshiki Koriyama, Takuji Kurimoto, Julia Teixeira Oliveira, Yuqin Yin, Yiqing Li, Hui-Ya Gilbert, Michela Fagiolini, Ana Maria Blanco Martinez, and Larry Benowitz
PNAS, May 2012, doi:10.1073/pnas.1119449109 Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

Add Your Opinion On This Article

'Researchers Regenerate Optic Nerve In Mice'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

regional medical center

Jumat, 25 Mei 2012

Researchers Regenerate Optic Nerve In Mice

Add Your Opinion On This Article

Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar