Ophthalmology Commons^™

Melanopsin-Expressing Retinal Ganglion Cells In Control Vs. Glaucomatous Retinas, Edward Hamad

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Glaucoma is a common cause of vision loss worldwide and has a large scope of symptoms, ranging from pupillary reflex defects to sleep disorders. These issues can be explained partially by a recently found subtype of retinal ganglion cells that express melanopsin, denoted melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells or mRGCs for short. These cells function primarily as photoreceptors in the non-image forming pathway, but can receive input from rods and cones. Since mRGCs play a role in the pupillary reflex and regulation of the sleep-wake cycle, I investigated if glaucoma leads to the degeneration of these cells in a mouse model …

A Clinico-Pathological Study Of The Structural And Functional Changes In The Retina And Optic Nerve Following Diabetic Retinopathy Treatments, Richard Filek

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the result of microvascular changes in the retina due to hyperglycemia which alter the blood-retinal barrier (BRB). The increased permeability of BRB results in the accumulation of extracellular fluid, the development of diabetic macular edema (DME) and capillary occlusion. Capillary occlusion results in retinal ischemia which increases vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels, increases vascular permeability and results in neovascularization in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) patients. The treatments clinically used for DR are panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) for PDR and injectable vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors (anti-VEGFs) for DME.

The safety of PRP and anti-VEGF therapy on …

Raav2/5 Gene-Targeting To Rods: Dose-Dependent Efficiency And Complications Associated With Different Promoters, William Beltran, Sanford L. Boye, Shannon E. Boye, Vince A. Chiodo, Alfred S. Lewin, William W. Hauswirth, Gustavo D. Aguirre

Gustavo D. Aguirre, VMD, PhD

A prerequisite for using corrective gene therapy to treat humans with inherited retinal degenerative diseases that primarily affect rods is to develop viral vectors that target specifically this population of photoreceptors. The delivery of a viral vector with photoreceptor tropism coupled with a rod-specific promoter is likely to be the safest and most efficient approach to target expression of the therapeutic gene to rods. Three promoters that included a fragment of the proximal mouse opsin promoter (mOP), the human G-protein-coupled receptor protein kinase 1 promoter (hGRK1), or the cytomegalovirus immediate early enhancer combined with the chicken β actin proximal promoter …

Intravitreal Injection Of Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor (Cntf) Causes Peripheral Remodeling And Does Not Prevent Photoreceptor Loss In Canine Rpgr Mutant Retina, William Beltran, Rong Wen, Gregory M. Acland, Gustavo D. Aguirre

Gustavo D. Aguirre, VMD, PhD

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) rescues photoreceptors in several animal models of retinal degeneration and is currently being evaluated as a potential treatment for retinitis pigmentosa in humans. This study was conducted to test whether CNTF prevents photoreceptor cell loss in XLPRA2, an early onset canine model of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa caused by a frameshift mutation in RPGR exon ORF15. Four different treatment regimens of CNTF were tested in XLPRA2 dogs. Under anesthesia, the animals received at different ages an intravitreal injection of 12 μg of CNTF in the left eye. The right eye served as a control and was injected …