Star-Shaped Brain Cells May Play a Critical Role in Glaucoma

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Brain Injuries May Cause Astrocytes to Kill the Very Nerves They Normally Nourish

June 23, 2020

Glaucoma Neuroscience

Basic Research

Grantee

Fluorescent green cell with long projections

After a brain injury, cells that normally nourish nerves may actually kill them instead, a new study in rodents finds. This “reactive” phenomenon may be the driving factor behind neurodegenerative diseases like glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness.

Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the study examined what happens when pressure builds up in the eye and damages the nerve cells that connect the eyes and brain. Although experts have long linked this condition to glaucoma, it remained unclear how excess pressure leads to cell death.