New Research Generates Hope For Restoring Vision In Patients With Retinal Disease

New research has found a solution to the problem of degenerative retinal disease, which has made the lives of millions of people worldwide miserable. It has given patients with degenerative retinal diseases new hope for perhaps regaining their vision.

According to a statement by the institute, researchers led by Universite de Montreal's Michel Cayouette have found a way to reactivate dormant cells in the retina and transform them to ultimately replace cells lost in retinal degeneration.

The research team of professor Michel Cayouette, who is director of cellular neurobiology research at the UdeM-affiliated Montreal Clinical Research Institute, discovered that cells that lie dormant in the retina (glial cells) can be induced to transform into cells sharing some properties with cone photoreceptors, which allow people to do things like perceive colours, read, and drive.

Inherited retinal degenerations are caused by the loss of light-sensitive cells in the retina at the back of the eye. When these cells degenerate due to disease, they are not replaced, and the patient suffers vision loss that can progress to total blindness.

"We have identified two genes that, when expressed in these dormant cells called Muller cells, can convert them into retinal neurons," said the study's first author, Camille Boudreau-Pinsonneault from the University of Montreal.

"What's interesting is that these Muller cells are known to reactivate and regenerate the retina in fish," she said. "But in mammals, including humans, they don't normally do so, not after injury or disease. And we don't yet fully understand why."

Co-author Ajay David, a doctoral student in Cayouette's lab, lauded "this exciting advance over cell transplantation," saying "we may one day be able to take advantage of the cells that are normally present in the retina and stimulate them to regenerate retinal cells lost to pathological conditions and to restore vision."