Near infrared light reduces oxidative stress and preserves function in CNS tissue vulnerable to secondary degeneration following partial transection of the optic nerve.

Abstract

Traumatic injury to the central nervous system (CNS) is accompanied by the spreading damage of secondary degeneration, resulting in further loss of neurons and function. Partial transection of the optic nerve (ON) has been used as a model of secondary degeneration, in which axons of retinal ganglion cells in the ventral ON are spared from initial dorsal injury, but are vulnerable to secondary degeneration. We have recently demonstrated that early after partial ON injury, oxidative stress spreads through the ventral ON vulnerable to secondary degeneration via astrocytes, and persists in the nerve in aggregates of cellular debris. In this study, we show that diffuse transcranial irradiation of..