June 14, 2010 
Like all other tissues in the body, eyes need a healthy blood supply to enable it to function normally. If the blood vessels are undeveloped, difficulties with vision or even blindness can occur. However, experts have come up with new ideas that can reverse this process…Doctors have found that certain retinal cells of mice are not receiving enough blood, but are able to survive for several months and later fully recover. They believe that this phenomenon can be applied to humans too.
“This is an intriguing discovery. It indicates that neurons in the retina can survive for a long time, although they did not work out for some time,” says professor of molecular biology and genetics Jeremy Nathans.
They found that three genes regulate blood flow to the retina. Disadvantages of any of them cause problems with the supply of the retina and can lead to blindness. Mice that lacked such a gene, Fz4, had poor blood flow to the retina and were blind. The team “fed” those retinas with oxygen and nutrients, that mimicked the normal supply of blood and concluded that the corneal is able to recognize the light and create signals similar to those produced by healthy retina.
Experts have found that in the absence of gene Fz4 retina receives just enough oxygen and nutrients to its cells that it could survive, but not function.
“If a part of the retina is deprived of normal blood flow, and if we completely or partially return the blood supply to that part we can restore some functions of vision,” Nathans is optimistic.
Taken from: www.ordinacija.hr Author: K. Horvat