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Maintaining Cone Function in Rod-Cone Dystrophies

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Retinal Degenerative Diseases

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1074))

Abstract

Retinal degenerative diseases are a major cause of untreatable blindness due to a loss of photoreceptors. Recent advances in genetics and gene therapy for inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs) showed that therapeutic gene transfer holds a great promise for vision restoration in people with currently incurable blinding diseases. Due to the huge genetic heterogeneity of IRDs that represents a major obstacle for gene therapy development, alternative therapeutic approaches are needed. This review focuses on the rescue of cone function as a therapeutic option for maintaining central vision in rod-cone dystrophies. It highlights recent developments in better understanding the mechanisms of action of the trophic factor RdCVF and its potential as a sight-saving therapeutic strategy.

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Financial Support

LABEX LIFESENSES [ANR-10-LABX-65], Foundation Fighting Blindness.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, INSERM U968, CNRS UMR 7210, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France

    José-Alain Sahel & Thierry Léveillard

  2. CHNO des Quinze-Vingts, DHU Sight Restore, INSERM-DGOS CIC 1423, Paris, France

    José-Alain Sahel

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    José-Alain Sahel

Authors
  1. José-Alain Sahel
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  2. Thierry Léveillard
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

    John D. Ash

  2. Ophthalmology and Cell Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA

    Robert E. Anderson

  3. School of Medicine Beckman Vision Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA

    Matthew M. LaVail

  4. Departments of Ophthalmology and Cell Biology, Duke Eye Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    Catherine Bowes Rickman

  5. Division of Ophthalmology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Joe G. Hollyfield

  6. Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Christian Grimm

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Sahel, JA., Léveillard, T. (2018). Maintaining Cone Function in Rod-Cone Dystrophies. In: Ash, J., Anderson, R., LaVail, M., Bowes Rickman, C., Hollyfield, J., Grimm, C. (eds) Retinal Degenerative Diseases. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1074. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75402-4_62

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