Understanding glaucomatous damage: Anatomical and functional data from ocular hypertensive rodent retinas

Publication date: January 2012 Source:Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, Volume 31, Issue 1 Author(s): Manuel Vidal-Sanz , Manuel Salinas-Navarro , Francisco M. Nadal-Nicolás , Luis Alarcón-Martínez , F. Javier Valiente-Soriano , Jaime Miralles de Imperial , Marcelino Avilés-Trigueros , Marta Agudo-Barriuso , Maria P. Villegas-Pérez Glaucoma, the second most common cause of blindness, is characterized by a progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells and their axons, with a concomitant loss of the visual field. Although the exact pathogenesis of glaucoma is not completely understood, a critical risk factor is the elevation, above normal values, of the intraocular pressure. Consequently, deciphering the anatomical and functional changes occurring in the rodent retina as a result of ocular hypertension has potential value, as it may help elucidate the pathology of retinal ganglion cell degeneration induced by glaucoma in humans. This paper predominantly reviews the cumulative information from our laboratory’s previous, recent and ongoing studies, and discusses the deleterious anatomical and functional effects of ocular hypertension on retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in adult rodents. In adult rats and mice, perilimbar and episcleral vein photocauterization induces ocular hypertension, which in turn results in devastating damage of the RGC population. In wide triangular sectors, preferentially located in the dorsal retina, RGCs lose their retrograde axonal tra...
Source: Progress in Retinal and Eye Research - Category: Opthalmology Source Type: research