Can the Retina be Persuaded to Regenerate?
Some highly regenerative species, such as zebrafish, are capable of repairing nervous system tissue such as the retina. As in all investigations of the comparative biology of regeneration, the question remains as to whether or not these underlying mechanisms of adult regeneration also exist in mammals, turned off beneath a layer of suppressive regulation. If so, then perhaps there is a comparatively simple path towards regrowth of injury and, possibly, repair of age-related damage. It seems the field is still some way distant from a definitive answer as to whether or not this is the case, however, and we should probably not expect anything in cellular biochemistry to turn out to be simple at the end of the day. Still, progress is being made, as illustrated here.
Although the mammalian retina does not spontaneously regenerate, researchers have now found that it has a regenerative capacity that is kept dormant by a cellular mechanism called the Hippo pathway. The discovery opens the possibility of activating the retina's ability to restore lost vision by manipulating this pathway. Damage to the retina can lead to irreparable loss of vision in humans and other mammals because their retinas do not regenerate. However, other animals such as zebrafish can reverse blindness thanks to specialized cells in the retina called Müller glial cells. When the retina is damaged, Müller glial cells proliferate and differentiate into the lost retinal neurons, effectively replacing injured cells with fully functional ones.
Although Müller glial cells in injured mammalian retina do not restore vision as their counterpart in zebrafish do, other researchers have shown that, when the mammalian retina is injured, a small subset of Müller glial cells takes the first steps needed to enter the proliferation cycle, such as acquiring molecular markers scientists expect to see in a proliferating cell. This attempt to proliferate is transient; after acquiring some of the cell markers the cells shut off. These observations suggested that the mechanism that drives cell repair in zebrafish also might be present in mammals, but it is actively suppressed.
Searching for the proposed suppressing mechanism, researchers focused their attention on the Hippo pathway, a network of molecular events that contributes to organ growth during development and to the regulation of heart tissue regeneration in response to myocardial infarction. The researchers first determined that the Hippo pathway is expressed in mammalian Müller glial cells. Then, they investigated whether altering the Hippo pathway in these cells would affect their ability to proliferate. Creating a malfunctioning Hippo pathway by eliminating two of its molecular steps resulted in modest cell proliferation. And when the researchers genetically engineered Müller glial cells to carry a version of YAP that is impervious to the inhibitory influence of Hippo, the cells showed major proliferation and acquired a progenitor cell identity. Importantly, a small subset of these Müller glia-derived progenitor cells showed signs of spontaneous differentiation into new retinal neurons. "Our next step is to develop a strategy to guide proliferating Müller glial cells into differentiation pathways leading to retinal cells capable of restoring vision."
Link: https://www.bcm.edu/news/eye/mechanism-blocking-retina-regeneration-found
Through cellular reprogramming, yeah. I don't see how to do it any other way.
Well,you could use stem cells. There is a phase 11a ( Reneuron) study beginning to show dramatic results for retinitis pigmentosa and probably therefore for AMD.
It increases the patient readings on the ETDRS chart by four lines ie pretty well back to normal.
Cellular reprogramming is very interesting but at an early stage and no clinical trials yet. The stem cell trial above is fast tracked and -possibly -should be in the clinic a lot earlier.
My retina was damaged during retina attachment surgery. Are there any studies or new programs on retina repair
Hey there,
Our daughter, 4 years old almost was born with congenital ocular toxoplasmosis. She has a scar in each retina close to the macula. Is there any therapy that could help in restoring her damaged retinas? I heard about a woman in Japan who got a retinal transplant through stem cells....does such a thing exist, would it be possible to do it for our daughter?
I recently suffered a Retinal Vein Ocullsion due to a 100 % blockage to the artery (5 months ago) and suffered permanent blindness in my left eye. I do have one small spot (about 1/20th of my vision) minor vein that kept blood flow to this part of the retina. I was wondering if any studies and/or tests had been done on retina regeneration where a small part of the retina is still healthy?
I did not have any symptons at all before this occurred to me late one night on the tennis court.
Dave P.
Victoria, BC Canada
To Dave concerning central vein occlusion of the retina. I too had no symptoms before this suddenly happened.
It happened to my left eye too, a year and a half ago....never accepted the dismal future given me by my ophalmologist, switched to acupuncture and Chinese naturopathy, went on Mu Di Ming Hwang Wan pills of different plants to feed eye cure (check on google). The eye has been improving slowly after initial snow-storm illusion style semi-blindness,,,I have got back to being able to read very large print.
An ophalmalogist's check recently told me the vascularisation was completed and no more occlusion and the process now is slowly clearing water in the eye which distorts vision as if under water, He seemed to think there is no problem .
I am in a period when the two eyes are not coordonnated, so a weird perception of vertigo or being slightly inebriated, when I am not.
PS, as a note, the doctor of Chinese (and Thibetan) medecine said the blockage of the vein is a symptom of a liver problem, and not an eye problem per se, but liver controls vision and hearing. He advised me to quit alcohol, take curcuma morning and evening, if, as he put it, I want the miracle to happen.
I did, so I followed rigorously what he instructed, and I would do it again, no regrets, given the result.
I hope this is helpful to anyone reading this who has suffered the terrible shock of a central vein occlusion of the retina.
Best,
David Moore, visual artist, Montreal, Canada.
Hey there,
Following laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy, my night vision is impaired. Is there any solution to for recovery?
Can stem cells injected using the retrobulbar injection method (behind the eye) possibly fix a retina damaged by a retinal laser?
I guess I want to know if it is theoretically possible that these stem cells can enter the eye and gravitate to the injury.
Hi I need help. My mom had a ischemic neuropathy attack of the right eye lost half of her vision only seeing 20/200 now on June 20,2020 she had a ischemic neuropathy of the left eye can only see 20/400 top and bottom is very blurry abs fuzzy please help me what do I do???
To Dave Moore this also happened to me
How are you doing now?
I would love to know more information
I once achieved retina regeneration using custom herbs mix, including Veronica officinalis, scutellaria baicalensis and centella asiatica.
I had retinal surgery to re-attach the retina in my left eye on September 14, 2020. It has been over 6 months now and while I can see out of my left eye, vision is only clear at a distance of about 6 inches to 12 inches. Otherwise, the vision is very blurred. Is there a procedure, experimental or not, that I could undergo to restore my vision?
I also have that problem No vision at any distance tho just blur
i had a massive hemorrhage on October 1, 2020. Subsequently, a vitrectomy, cataract surgery and Jag procedure in my right eye. I had been receiving injections for AMD and the progress was great. I refuse to accept the dismal fact that my eye will remain blurry due to macula scarring. After 6 months, I can see shadows, some semblance of images 6 " from face and some peripheral image but not clear. Has anyone experienced this? I would be open to join a trial study.
I have a CRAO IN THE right eye with loss of 90 % of the vision in that eye. My Dr.'s have looked for a cause for the occlusion and found nothing and refer to it as a "fluke". What is my best bet on restoring the damaged retinal tissue from lack of blood flow? Thanks for your responses.
Lee
I had a cataract operation which caused the retina to detach. They put gas in which didn't work then they put oil in but when they did this they caused a hole in the retina. I was then told it had clouded the lense so they would change it this operation went terribly wrong and was told by another specialist it should not have been operated on with oil in the eye. I am now totally blind in left eye and would like to know if anything can be done. A very distressing situation
Is there any hope for a tysical(sp?)eye caused by ROP?
I had toxoplasmosis when I was born in my left eye which left a scar. I could only see out to my left in that eye. At 69 my retina tore and had Lazer surgery 3 times the most recent with oil which is still in. Now I can see straight ahead but it is really blurry. My doctor, Dr. Martin Uram who has since retired said; he cleaned allot of junk out of my eye and that's why my straight ahead vision improved. I was told the cataracts in that eye is really bad I could get it fixed. My question is, should I get the oil removed before I get the cataracts fixed? Dr. Martin told me the reason my retina kept tearing was due to the scar. Scar caused a weak point in the retina.
On 12/20/2022 had CRAO left eye. Cholessterol was the cause. All test do not identify source. Light awareness only.
Small spot has some vision. Looking for a clinical trial for restoration. Nothing to loose. Using patch to prevent lightheaded symptoms.