Retinal Diseases and Treatments

Retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy damage the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, progressively destroying central vision in tens of millions of people worldwide. Researchers work to understand how factors like oxidative stress, abnormal growth of leaky blood vessels driven by vascular endothelial growth factor, and genetic variants such as complement factor H polymorphisms conspire to degrade the retinal pigment epithelium and the choroid beneath it. Current treatments, including intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF drugs, can slow vision loss but rarely restore it, and a significant share of patients respond only partially or not at all. Active work is focused on identifying why treatment responses vary so widely, on developing neuroprotective and gene-based therapies, and on using high-resolution imaging tools to catch disease-causing changes before irreversible damage occurs.

Works

108,136

Total citations

2,053,200

Keywords

Macular DegenerationRetinal Pigment EpitheliumDiabetic RetinopathyOxidative StressVascular Endothelial Growth FactorChoroidal Thickness