Cerebral Modifications in Glaucoma and Macular Degeneration: Analysis of Current Evidence in Literature and Their Implications on Therapeutic Perspectives.
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引用次数: 4
Abstract
Glaucoma and macular degeneration are leading causes of irreversible blindness, significantly compromising the quality of life and having a high economic and social impact. Promising therapeutic approaches aimed at regenerating or bypassing the damaged anatomical-functional components are currently under development: these approaches have generated great expectations, but to be effective require a visual network that, despite the pathology, maintains its integrity up to the higher brain areas. In the light of this, the existing findings concerning how the central nervous system modifies its connections following the pathological damage caused by glaucoma and macular degeneration acquire great interest. This review aims to examine the scientific literature concerning the morphological and functional changes affecting the central nervous system in these pathological conditions, summarizing the evidence in an analytical way, discussing their possible causes and highlighting the potential repercussions on the current therapeutic perspectives.
期刊介绍:
Eye and Brain is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal focusing on basic research, clinical findings, and expert reviews in the field of visual science and neuro-ophthalmology. The journal’s unique focus is the link between two well-known visual centres, the eye and the brain, with an emphasis on the importance of such connections. All aspects of clinical and especially basic research on the visual system are addressed within the journal as well as significant future directions in vision research and therapeutic measures. This unique journal focuses on neurological aspects of vision – both physiological and pathological. The scope of the journal spans from the cornea to the associational visual cortex and all the visual centers in between. Topics range from basic biological mechanisms to therapeutic treatment, from simple organisms to humans, and utilizing techniques from molecular biology to behavior. The journal especially welcomes primary research articles or review papers that make the connection between the eye and the brain. Specific areas covered in the journal include: Physiology and pathophysiology of visual centers, Eye movement disorders and strabismus, Cellular, biochemical, and molecular features of the visual system, Structural and functional organization of the eye and of the visual cortex, Metabolic demands of the visual system, Diseases and disorders with neuro-ophthalmic manifestations, Clinical and experimental neuro-ophthalmology and visual system pathologies, Epidemiological studies.