Visual recovery as the target for glaucoma

Abstract

Background: Visual recovery is an established but poorly studied phenomenon in glaucoma. Objective: To provide insights into functional recovery of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) with a view to providing information on the development of forms of treatment that improve RGC function after injury. Method: A model of recoverable RGC function in the mouse eye, induced by short-term elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP). Results: The RGCs manifest near complete functional recovery after a prolonged period of dysfunction following acute IOP elevation. Increasing age and a high fat diet were subsequently found to impair recovery, whereas exercise substantially improved recovery such that older mic..