Grant: Project Grant

Ischemic retinopathies are a group of ocular diseases, including diabetic retinopathy (DR), responsible for major vision deficits. According to the International Diabetes Federation, 382 millions of people suffer of diabetes in the world. DR is a severe complication of diabetes that can lead to blindness. One estimates that DR is one of the most prevalent ocular diseases impairing vision in the working population. The number of DR patients is expected to dramatically increase in the next decades by the World Health Organization. Current therapies are not sufficient to stop the disease or can cause severe side-effects. The search for new therapeutic approaches to fight ischemic retinopathies such as DR is therefore a public health priority. Clinical signs of DR retinae consist of abnormal blood vessel morphologies and bleeding in the eyes. Moreover, aberrant proliferation of blood vessels and retinal edema dramatically worsen vision in 50% of type 1 patients and in 10% of type 2 patients after 15 years. Retinal neuron dysfunction is a direct consequence of ensuing ischemic damage. Indeed, the ability of retinal neurons to repair after injury is very poor. In this project, the potential implication of a new molecule will be investigated in neuronal and blood vessel dysfunctions using retinal ischemia animal models, in vivo. In the current research proposal, it is suggested that this molecule disturbs blood supply of the eye and alters the neurological processing of the visual information by the eye. Developing a new treatment targeting this molecule may stabilize blood supply of the eye and may restore the visual function of the eye in DR patients.