Restoration of Retinal Structure and Function after Selective Photocoagulation

Deafferented Adult Rod Bipolar Cells Create New Synapses with Photoreceptors to Restore Vision

“…The resulting deafferentation of the inner retinal neurons disturbs the organized retinal structure, leading to abnormal circuit connectivity and function (Marc et al, 2003;Stasheff et al, 2011;D'Orazi et al, 2014). One approach to restore vision in patients blinded by the loss of photoreceptors is based on the reintroduction of healthy photoreceptors into diseased retina (MacLaren et al, 2006;Singh and MacLaren, 2011;Pearson, 2014).…”

“…In particular, local and selective ablation of photoreceptors leads to the shift of the surrounding healthy photoreceptors into the lesioned area (Busch et al, 1999;Paulus et al, 2008;Lavinsky et al, 2013;Strazzeri et al, 2014). Furthermore, it was shown that the shifting photoreceptors pro-vide inputs to the retinal circuitry and that the inner retinal neurons in the lesioned area become responsive to light (Sher et al, 2013). However, it is unclear how the shifting photoreceptors integrate into the deafferented portion of the retina, and whether the new connectivity is similar to that in the healthy retina.…”

Evaluation of the inner-retinal cells survival after low duration laser treatment measured by electroretinogram in patient with diabetic retinopathy

“…A possible explanation was the restoration of retinal structure and its function, which has been postulated to occur 8 weeks after laser treatment. Sher et al suggested that retinal restoration could occur by retention of old synapses, the origination of new synapses, or both [6].…”

“…Unfortunately, heat from photocoagulation frequently not only destroys photoreceptors but also affects other surround-doi: 10.7243/2055-2408-4-2 ing cells, including the inner retinal cells [6]. Many patients therefore still experience reduced visual acuity and peripheral visual field defects.…”

New Frontiers in Selective Retinal Lasers

“…The reduced intensity and pulse duration laser has been shown in rabbits to result in retinal lesions in which the photoreceptors fill-in the laser spot within four months ( Figure 2) [24] . This has been shown to result in both restoration of retina structure and function in these laser spots with intact retinal ganglion cells in the laser region through retinal remodeling [25] . This restoration of morphology has also been shown in humans with OCT following less intense laser burns [26,27] .…”