PMID- 18565994 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20090115 LR - 20211020 IS - 1469-7793 (Electronic) IS - 0022-3751 (Print) IS - 0022-3751 (Linking) VI - 586 IP - 18 DP - 2008 Sep 15 TI - Effects of optic nerve injury, glaucoma, and neuroprotection on the survival, structure, and function of ganglion cells in the mammalian retina. PG - 4393-400 LID - 10.1113/jphysiol.2008.156729 [doi] AB - Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy that originates with pressure-induced damage to the optic nerve. This results in the retrograde degeneration of ganglion cells in the retina, and a progressive loss of vision. Over the past several years, a number of studies have described the structural and functional changes that characterize ganglion cell degeneration in the glaucomatous eye, and following optic nerve injury. In addition, a variety of different strategies for providing neuroprotection to the injured retina have been proposed. Many of these are based on the use of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a particularly potent neuroprotectant in the mammalian eye and the basis of our research in this area. Of particular importance is the fact that BDNF not only promotes ganglion cell survival following damage to the optic nerve, but also helps to preserve the structural integrity of the surviving neurons, which in turn results in enhanced visual function. The studies presented here describe these attributes, and serve as the foundation for ongoing work that suggests a need to think beyond the eye in the development of future treatment strategies. FAU - Weber, A J AU - Weber AJ AD - Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. weberar@msu.edu FAU - Harman, C D AU - Harman CD FAU - Viswanathan, S AU - Viswanathan S LA - eng GR - R01 EY011159/EY/NEI NIH HHS/United States GR - EY011159/EY/NEI NIH HHS/United States PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural PT - Review DEP - 20080619 PL - England TA - J Physiol JT - The Journal of physiology JID - 0266262 RN - 0 (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) RN - 0 (Neuroprotective Agents) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Apoptosis MH - Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/therapeutic use MH - Glaucoma/drug therapy/pathology/*physiopathology MH - Neuroprotective Agents/therapeutic use MH - Optic Nerve/*physiopathology MH - Retinal Ganglion Cells/pathology/*physiology PMC - PMC2614024 EDAT- 2008/06/21 09:00 MHDA- 2009/01/16 09:00 PMCR- 2009/09/15 CRDT- 2008/06/21 09:00 PHST- 2008/06/21 09:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2009/01/16 09:00 [medline] PHST- 2008/06/21 09:00 [entrez] PHST- 2009/09/15 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - jphysiol.2008.156729 [pii] AID - 10.1113/jphysiol.2008.156729 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - J Physiol. 2008 Sep 15;586(18):4393-400. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2008.156729. Epub 2008 Jun 19.