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Degenerative Diseases of the Retina pp 275–284Cite as

Retinal Pathology in Retinitis Pigmentosa

Considerations for Therapy

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Abstract

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) causes primary degeneration of photoreceptors, followed by reactive changes in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and Müller glia, death of inner retinal neurons, and atrophy of the retinal vasculature. Current strategies for retinal therapy include transplantation of normal photoreceptors, delivery of corrective genes to diseased photoreceptors, and electrical stimulation of inner retinal neurons [1–5]. This chapter will review the histopathology of the retina in RP, including the characteristic changes found in the photoreceptors, subretinal space, RPE and choriocapillaris, Müller glia, inner retinal neurons and blood vessels. Changes in these retinal components secondary to death of photoreceptors are important considerations in developing new therapies for RP

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology RJ-10, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA

    Ann H. Milam & Zong-Yi Li

Authors
  1. Ann H. Milam
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  2. Zong-Yi Li
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA

    Robert E. Anderson

  2. University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA

    Matthew M. LaVail

  3. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Joe G. Hollyfield

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© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Milam, A.H., Li, ZY. (1995). Retinal Pathology in Retinitis Pigmentosa. In: Anderson, R.E., LaVail, M.M., Hollyfield, J.G. (eds) Degenerative Diseases of the Retina. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1897-6_31

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1897-6_31

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5774-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-1897-6

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