This book will contain the proceedings of the XIV International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration (RD2010), held July 13-17, 2010, in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. The volume will present representative state-of-the-art research in almost all areas of retinal degenerations, ranging from cytopathologic, physiologic, diagnostic and clinical aspects; animal models; mechanisms of cell death; candidate genes, cloning, mapping and other aspects of molecular genetics; and developing potential therapeutic measures such as gene therapy and neuroprotective agents for potential pharmaceutical therapy.
This book contains the proceedings of the XVIII International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration (RD2018). A majority of those who spoke and presented posters at the meeting contributed to this volume. The blinding diseases of inherited retinal degenerations have no treatments, and age-related macular degeneration has no cures, despite the fact that it is an epidemic among the elderly, with 1 in 3-4 affected by the age of 70. The RD Symposium focused on the exciting new developments aimed at understanding these diseases and providing therapies for them. Since most major scientists in the field of retinal degenerations attend the biennial RD Symposia, they are known by most as the “best” and “most important” meetings in the field. The volume presents representative state-of-the-art research in almost all areas of retinal degenerations, ranging from cytopathologic, physiologic, diagnostic and clinical aspects; animal models; mechanisms of cell death; candidate genes, cloning, mapping and other aspects of molecular genetics; and developing potential therapeutic measures such as gene therapy and neuroprotective agents for potential pharmaceutical therapy. While advances in these areas of retinal degenerations were described, there will be many new topics that either are in their infancy or did not exist at the time of the last RD Symposium. These include the role of inflammation and immunity, as well as other basic mechanisms, in age-related macular degeneration, several new aspects of gene therapy, and revolutionary new imaging and functional testing that will have a huge impact on the diagnosis and following the course of retinal degenerations, as well as to provide new quantitative endpoints for clinical trials. The retina is an approachable part of the central nervous system (CNS), and there is a major interest in neuroprotective and gene therapy for CNS diseases and neurodegenerations, in general. It should be noted that with successful and exciting initial clinical trials in neuroprotective and gene therapy, including the restoration of sight in blind children, the retinal degeneration therapies are leading the way towards new therapeutic measures for neurodegenerations of the CNS. Many of the successes recently reported in these areas of retinal degeneration sprang from collaborations established at previous RD Symposia, and many of those were reported at the RD2016 meeting and included in the current volume. We anticipate the excitement of those working in the field and those afflicted with retinal degenerations is reflected in the volume.
This book discusses why specific diseases are being targeted for cell-based retinal therapy, what evidence exists that justifies optimism for this approach, and what challenges must be managed in order to bring this technology from the laboratory into routine clinical practice. There are a number of unanswered questions (e.g., surgical approach to cell delivery, management of immune response, optimum cell type to transplant) that very likely are not going to be answered until human trials are undertaken, but there is a certain amount of “de-risking” that can be done with preclinical experimentation. This book is essential reading for scientists, clinicians, and advanced students in stem cell research, cell biology, and ophthalmology.
This book provides an illustrated guide to peripheral retinal degenerations and the role of spectral domain coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in diagnosis and treatment. The book discusses 73 clinical cases and gives detailed information on the principles of SD-OCT and its application in the imaging of peripheral retina. Peripheral Retinal Degenerations: Optical Coherence Tomography and Retinal Laser Coagulation, 2nd edition, discusses a broad range of retinal pathologies such as chorioretinal degenerations, posterior vitreous detachment, vitreoretinal adhesions and tractions and includes a plethora of high-quality clinical images throughout. Ophthalmologists and retinal specialists will find this updated edition to be the perfect didactic resource for furthering skills and knowledge in this clinical area.
Handbook of Nutrition, Diet, and the Eye, Second Edition, thoroughly addresses common features and etiological factors on how dietary and nutritional factors affect the eye. The ocular system is perhaps one of the least studied organs in diet and nutrition, yet the consequences of vision loss are devastating. There are a range of ocular defects that have either their origin in nutritional deficiencies/excess or have been shown to respond favorably to nutritional components. Featuring a new section on animal model studies where both the ocular problem and dietary remedies can be varied, there are also new chapters on dietary supplements. - Serves as a foundational collection for neuroscience, neurology and nutrition researchers, illustrating the importance of nutrition and diet in eye health and function - Provides a common language for readers to discuss how nutritional factors and related diseases and syndromes affect the eye - Features new chapters on infectious diseases of the eye where nutrition is a factor - Discusses animal model studies, dietary supplements, natural dietary extracts from around the world, and age-related changes in ocular health
This selection of articles from the Encyclopedia of the Eye covering retina, optics/optic nerve and comparative topics constitutes the first reference for scientists, post docs, and graduate students with an interest beyond standard textbook materials. It covers the full spectrum of research on the retina - from the basic biochemistry of how nerve cells are created to information on neurotransmitters, comparisons of the structure and neuroscience of peripheral vision systems in different species, and all the way through to injury repair and other clinical applications. The first single volume to integrate comparative studies into a comprehensive resource on the neuroscience of the retina Chapters are carefully selected from the Encyclopedia of the Eye by one of the world's leading vision researchers The best researchers in the field provide their conclusions in the context of the latest experimental results
This book takes a clinical approach to the patient with a genetic disease that affects the eye. The chapters on particular types of diseases follow the same organizational format, covering history, pathogenesis and etiology, epidemiology, classification, clinical manifestations and diagnosis, and treatment. The recent progress achieved in the molecular genetics of eye disease is fully reflected throughout the book. It is written by leading experts in the field and provides clinical, molecular genetic and management information on common and rare diseases. The chapters are heavily illustrated and provide a good Atlas for the practicing ophthalmologist or geneticist.
This Atlas of Inherited Retinal Disorders provides a thorough overview of various inherited retinal dystrophies with emphasis on phenotype characteristics and how they relate to the most frequently encountered genes. It also meets the previously unmet needs of PhD students who will benefit from seeing the phenotypes of genes they work on and study. Further, because genetic-testing costs are quite high and spiraling higher, this Atlas will help geneticists familiarize themselves with the candidate gene approach to test patients’ genomes, enabling more cost-efficient testing. This invaluable atlas is organized into eight sections starting with an introduction to the basic knowledge on retinal imaging, followed by diseases listed according to inheritance pattern and disorders with extraocular manifestations grouped by defining features. This structure will be intuitive to clinicians and students studying inherited retinal disorders.
Since the first successful isolation and cultivation of human embryonic stem cells at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1998, there has been high levels of both interest and controversy in this area of research. This book provides a concise overview of an exciting field, covering the characteristics of both human embryonic stem cells and pluripotent stem cells from other human cell lineages. The following chapters describe state-of-the-art differentiation and characterization of specific ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm-derived lineages from human embryonic stem cells, emphasizing how these can be used to study human developmental mechanisms. A further chapter discusses genetic manipulation of human ES cells. The concluding section covers therapeutic applications of human ES cells, as well as addressing the ethical and legal issues that this research have raised.
