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Synaptic Remodeling in Retinal Degeneration

  • Chapter
Retinal Degenerations

Part of the book series: Ophthalmology Research ((OPHRES))

Abstract

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of hereditary retinal degenerative diseases with a complex molecular etiology. Hundreds of RP-inducing mutations, involving dozens of genes, have been identified in patients (see references in other chapters in this book; a list of identified mutations that cause retinal degeneration is updated at www.sph.uth. tmc.edu/RetNet). Despite this genetic heterogeneity, patients with RP tend to have a common pattern of vision loss. Typically, patients experience loss of night vision early in life as a result of degeneration of rod photoreceptors. Some loss of cone photoreceptor function may be detected early as well. Nevertheless, the majority of cones survives and remains functional, and hence daytime vision persists. Over years and decades, however, these cones progressively degenerate, leading ultimately to blindness (1). The link between the myriad of mutations to the disease mechanisms underlying the clinical course of rod-cone degeneration in RP remains unknown; meanwhile, there is no cure or effective treatment broadly available for RP.

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  1. Deperment of Ophthalmology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC

    You-Wei Peng & Fulton Wong

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  1. You-Wei Peng
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  1. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT

    Joyce Tombran-Tink PhD  & Colin J. Barnstable DPhil  & 

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Peng, YW., Wong, F. (2007). Synaptic Remodeling in Retinal Degeneration. In: Tombran-Tink, J., Barnstable, C.J. (eds) Retinal Degenerations. Ophthalmology Research. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-186-4_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-186-4_15

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