Mechanisms of ganglion cell injury in glaucoma

这个项目的目的是提高我们对眼压升高(眼压或眼压)在青光眼相关神经死亡和相关视力丧失发展中所起作用的理解。尽管在澳大利亚是导致视力丧失的第二大原因，但我们对青光眼中损害眼睛神经(将视觉信息传递到大脑的神经节细胞)的因素的了解仍然不完整。例如，眼压升高是青光眼的一个公认的危险因素，但多达一半的青光眼患者没有高眼压。临床数据表明，在常规临床检查中未被注意到的压力波动(或尖峰)可能与青光眼的发生和发展有关。到目前为止，还没有直接证据支持这一论点。这个项目的目的是使用一种新的啮齿动物压力升高的实验模型来考虑这种可能性。通过测量眼睛对闪光的电反应，可以敏感地评估压力峰值可能如何影响视网膜神经节细胞的健康。众所周知，压力峰值在人类中经常发生。解剖学测量也将被用来确定导致细胞损伤的事件的顺序。这一知识是一个重要的公共卫生问题，因为它将提高对青光眼发展的风险因素的理解。这些结果可能会导致检测和治疗策略的改进，例如更密切地监测眼压峰值，以及对那些眼压表现出更大变异性的人进行更积极的治疗。

The aim of this project is to improve our understanding of the role that increased eye pressure (intraocular pressure or IOP) plays in the development of glaucoma-related nerve death and associated vision loss. Despite being the second leading cause of vision loss in Australia, our understanding of the factors that damage nerves in the eye (the ganglion cells that carry visual information to the brain) in glaucoma remains incomplete. For example, elevated eye pressure is a well-established risk factor for glaucoma, but as many as half of those with glaucoma do not have high eye pressure. Clinical data suggests that pressure fluctuations (or spikes), which go unnoticed in routine clinical check ups, may be involved in glaucoma onset and progression. To date there has been no direct evidence to support this contention. This project aims to use a novel experimental model of pressure elevation in rodents to consider this possibility. By measuring the eye's electrical response to a flash of light it is possible to sensitively assess how pressure spikes, that are known to occur with regularity in humans, might affect the health of retinal ganglion cells. Anatomical measures will also be used to establish the sequence of events that cause cellular damage. This knowledge is an important public health issue, because it will improve understanding of the risk factors for the development of glaucoma. The results may lead to improvements in detection and treatment strategies such as closer monitoring for pressure spikes and more aggressive treatment for those who show greater variability in their eye pressures.