An guess 3.4 million people suffer fromretinal pigmentosa ( RP)orage - colligate macular degeneration ( AMD)in the United States alone . These disease deteriorate retinal mathematical function and result in various academic degree of sight loss , include complete blindness . Current treatment methods can slow the onset of these disease , but there is nothing that can be done to reverse the loss of sight once it occurs . This might not always be the case , as a Modern chemical substance called DENAQ has been shown to bushel photosensitivity of retinal cells . The study was led by Richard Kramer from University of California Berkeley and the results were publish inNeuron .
Theretinais locate at the posterior last of the orb . Light descend in through the lens and is focused on the retinal cells . rod are sensitive photoreceptors which are better accommodate to low - Inner Light scenario while cones are the color - sensitive cells . The data they collect is channel through the ganglion cellular phone , which sends the information to various area of the brain but are not raw to light up themselves . Due to old age and/or inherited element , the rod and cone cell can start to lose function , fall the quality and quantity of visual information sent to the brain via the ganglion cells . Physically , all the retinal cells are still there , but have ceased to function properly .
Amolecule bed as AAQwas developed several days ago by Kramer ’s lab and could act as a “ photoswitch ” to make the ganglion cells photosensitive and restore partial visual modality . Unfortunately , high tier of ultraviolet light were required to make them function and the dose only endure a few hours . These limitations made it all unsafe and impractical for usage in a living being .
Kramer et al . laterdeveloped a moleculethat was shown to make the ganglion cell photosensitive and call for only the use of regular daylight - a marked improvement over AAQ . The novel chemical was named DENAQ . The most recent study applied DENAQ into unreasoning mice forin vivotesting . The mice had a genetic condition that rapidly drop retinal rod and cone function within the first month of liveliness , but were otherwise sizeable . Not only does the disease decrease visual modality , but also alter the electrophysiology .
Mice who received DENAQ ( along with a control radical ) were monitored in both normal and grim - light condition as the researchers watched their movements . The test group was able to pilot their surroundings and show sign of visual encyclopedism much well than the ascendence grouping after receiving the treatment . The increase of a small electrical electrical shock also help oneself the mice re - study how to litigate tripping .
DENAQ is injected into the eye and the results can last for several days . The chemical is able to target only the ganglion cells that do not accompany functional rods and cones . According to Kramer , this should minimize any side effects . However , even after a calendar month of written report , there was no reading that DENAQ had any toxic effects on the test subject .
Of course , this is a long way off from human trial , let alone clinical covering . It is still not completely understood how DENAQ impacts vision or if it could affect other process in the brain due to the modification in ganglion cellular telephone function . Also , while black eye are a capital first model organism , there is still the possibility that DENAQ could be toxic in humans . Future research will try DENAQ in other mammals to determine if it show the same success as in the mice .
