Work

Emerging Treatments for Retinitis Pigmentosa: Genes and stem cells, as well as new electronic and medical therapies, are gaining ground.

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Current treatments for retinitis pigmentosa (RP) are limited, but a number of developments are poised to enter the field. Based on randomized clinical trials with vitamins and supplements, the only widely recommended treatment is supplementation with high-dose vitamin A palmitate and fish oil, along with avoidance of vitamin E, but these adjustments only delay degeneration.1,2 The accessibility of the retina for relatively safe surgical procedures and the immune privilege of the eye have made retinal diseases the ideal setting to use leading-edge tools, such as gene therapy and stem cell therapy, which have the potential to produce an effective treatment for some types of RP.

Source: PubMed

Authors: Michael K Lin, Yi-Ting Tsai, Stephen H Tsang

Institutions: NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University

Language: English

Topic: Retinal Development and Disorders

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute on Aging, National Eye Institute

Awards: Evaluating GWAS AMD Candidate Loci by Gene Editing in Human iPS Cells, Defining Barriers to Gene Therapy