Courtney Griffin, Ph.D. Image credit: Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
An Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation discovery could pave the way for therapies to reverse vision loss common in premature infants and adults.
In a new study appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, OMRF scientists have identified a compound that could give birth to therapies for a host of eye diseases that include retinopathy of prematurity and diabetic retinopathy.
“Potentially, even patients with advanced disease progression could see their fortunes turned around,” said Courtney Griffin, Ph.D., the senior author of the study.
Several eye disorders occur when blood vessels grow out of control in the retina, the tissue that lines the back of the eye. In these forms of retinopathy, a web of vessels blocks light from reaching the retina, which is how we see. The overgrowth causes vision issues that can advance to total blindness.