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Study ID's how our eyes adjust to darkness
Vision researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said their discovery could contribute to a better understanding of human diseases that affect the retina, including age-related macular degeneration -- the leading cause of blindness in Americans more than 50 years old.
The researchers, led by Assistant Professor Vladimir Kefalov, said they used mice, primates and humans to focus on a particular type of cell in the retina called Muller cells. The scientists treated mouse retinas with a chemical that destroyed the Muller cells and then exposed the retina to bright light, followed by darkness.
"When we blocked the function of Muller cells, the retinal visual pathway could not function because cones ran out of photopigment and could not adapt to dark," Kefalov said.
That discovery, he said, means it might one day be possible to improve vision after it's been interrupted by injury or disease, such as age-related macular degeneration.
The research is detailed in the journal Current Biology.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International
This news arrived on: 10/14/2009
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