Age-related macular degeneration affects tens of millions of people worldwide, leading to vision impairment and blindness. Anti-VEGF treatment helps only 25-40% of patients, leaving others with no recourse to this progressive blinding disease. In their article, “Suppression of aberrant choroidal neovascularization through activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor,” Choudhary et al explore potential treatment using
Phoenix MICRON Research Blog
28.10
2020
A year-long longitudinal pattern dystrophy fundus study with the Phoenix MICRON® IV imaging platform
In their 2019 paper, “Novel molecular mechanisms for Prph2‐associated pattern dystrophy,” Chakraborty et al use the Phoenix MICRON® IV retinal imaging platform to longitudinally study the effect of a very specific mutation affecting the Peripherin 2 protein. Peripherin 2 is a protein in rods and cones which, if mutated, can lead to retinitis pigmentosa, cone-rod
29.09
2020
RPE mutations lead to retinal hypopigmentation, vasculature changes, and decreased function
In their paper, “The microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitf) gene and its role in regulating eye function,” García-Llorca et al use the Phoenix MICRON® IV to examine the outer eye appearance, retinal pigmentation, and retinal vasculature through fluorescein angiography to study several different mouse mutants. Combined with electroretinography and histology, the fundus images tell a story
26.08
2020
Phoenix MICRON® III shows microglia-like cells migrating from the optic nerve after injury
Microglia respond to neurological injury but the precise way they help to clear and remodel the injuries is not known. In their paper, “Optic nerve as a source of activated retinal microglia post-injury,” Heuss et al investigate a population of microglia-like cells that proliferate in the retina after an optic nerve injury. They identify GFPhi myeloid
21.07
2020
Caspase-9 inhibiting eyedrops rescue physiological and functional retinal vein occlusion damage shown with Phoenix MICRON®, OCT, and focal ERG
In a recent well written, compelling article published in Nature Communications, “Endothelial activation of caspase-9 promotes neurovascular injury in retinal vein occlusion,” Avrutsky et al show that caspase-9 inhibition is a promising treatment for retinal vein occlusion. Retinal vein occlusion models hypoxic-ischemic neurovascular damage and is the second leading cause of blindness in working-age adults.
23.06
2020
Targeting VEGF164 in Müller cells may be useful to treat retinopathy of prematurity
In Nature’s Scientific Reports, Becker et al use the Phoenix MICRON® IV, OCT, and focal ERG to assess the therapeutic value of knocking down a splice variant of VEGF in Müller cells in a model of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). ROP is characterized by delayed vascularization of the retina after disrupted oxygen levels, followed by