TY - JOUR
T1 - Losing, preserving, and restoring vision from neurodegeneration in the eye
AU - Kerschensteiner, Daniel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2023/10/9
Y1 - 2023/10/9
N2 - The retina is a part of the brain that sits at the back of the eye, looking out onto the world. The first neurons of the retina are the rod and cone photoreceptors, which convert changes in photon flux into electrical signals that are the basis of vision. Rods and cones are frequent targets of heritable neurodegenerative diseases that cause visual impairment, including blindness, in millions of people worldwide. This review summarizes the diverse genetic causes of inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) and their convergence onto common pathogenic mechanisms of vision loss. Currently, there are few effective treatments for IRDs, but recent advances in disparate areas of biology and technology (e.g., genome editing, viral engineering, 3D organoids, optogenetics, semiconductor arrays) discussed here enable promising efforts to preserve and restore vision in IRD patients with implications for neurodegeneration in less approachable brain areas.
AB - The retina is a part of the brain that sits at the back of the eye, looking out onto the world. The first neurons of the retina are the rod and cone photoreceptors, which convert changes in photon flux into electrical signals that are the basis of vision. Rods and cones are frequent targets of heritable neurodegenerative diseases that cause visual impairment, including blindness, in millions of people worldwide. This review summarizes the diverse genetic causes of inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) and their convergence onto common pathogenic mechanisms of vision loss. Currently, there are few effective treatments for IRDs, but recent advances in disparate areas of biology and technology (e.g., genome editing, viral engineering, 3D organoids, optogenetics, semiconductor arrays) discussed here enable promising efforts to preserve and restore vision in IRD patients with implications for neurodegeneration in less approachable brain areas.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85172917897&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.044
DO - 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.044
M3 - Review article
C2 - 37816323
AN - SCOPUS:85172917897
SN - 0960-9822
VL - 33
SP - R1019-R1036
JO - Current Biology
JF - Current Biology
IS - 19
ER -