Blindness cure with fish retina, a new study suggests
Posted on: 13/Mar/2017 3:19:57 PM
A newly identified chemical signal found in the zebrafish brain is promising to help regenerate retina, according to a finding by scientists including one from the Indian origin. This will help in curing blindness in humans, they say.
Natural regeneration of human retina will be possible, the discovery claims. The damages caused by degenerative retinal diseases and injury including that of age related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa can be naturally repaired, the researchers said.
In fishes, the secreted growth factors induces regeneration of retina, but in the study results, it is claimed that the neurotransmitter GABA would initiate the same, said James Patton, Professor at Vanderbilt University, US.
According to all regeneration models, the retina will get damaged before onset of regeneration. However, this study states that the GABA initiates regeneration even when retinas are not damaged. Thus, it is observed that the retina structure in fish and mammals are both the same.
Though being very thin of lesser than 0.5mm thickness, there are three layers in the retina nerve cell. The photoreceptors detect light, horizontal cells integrate signals received from photoreceptors and ganglion cells receive visual information and it maps it to the brain. There is also a type of adult stem cell named Muller glia spanning all these three layers, giving mechanical support and electrical insulation.
