Acetylcysteine (NAC) may help protect the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) from the effects of chronic oxygen stress, according to a new study. NAC is a pharmaceutical drug and nutritional supplement used primarily as a mucolytic agent and in the management of acetaminophen overdose. It has also been shown to have antiviral effects in patients...

Stem cells, with their capacity to regenerate and replace diseased tissues, have recently been proposed as having great potential in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). A stem cell therapeutic approach could operate to replace either the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), the neurosensory retina or a combination of both....

The outcome following transplantation of en bloc sheets of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-choroidal tissue and suspensions of RPE cells are similar, according to a new study. Prior to the advent of anti-VEGF drugs, such as Avastin and Lucentis, there was no effective treatment for subfoveal choroidal neovascular membranes. This prompted some...

Somatostatin (sst) plays an important role in the viability of human retinal pigment epithelium (hRPE) cells. Somatostatin, also known as growth hormone inhibiting hormone, is a peptide hormone that regulates the endocrine system and affects neurotransmission and cell proliferation.Somatostatin is produced by numerous organs throughout the...

Torpedo maculopathy is a benign, congenital defect of the retinal pigment epithelium. This study was a retrospective, observational case series. The medical records of 13 patients, age 1–68 years, seen between 1982 and 2009 were reviewed. Patients were evaluated for lesion features and course on follow-up, visual acuity, fluorescein...

Scientists were able to produce a condition similar to geographic atrophy, the end stage of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in genetically engineered mice that contain a retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) that does not secrete vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). It has recently been suggested that AMD arises due to a breakdown...

A new study examining the relationship between the choriocapillaris (CC) and retinal pigment epithelial changes in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) finds that the primary insult in geographic atrophy (GA) appears to be at the level of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), where retinal pigment epithelial atrophy preceeds secondary...

University of Florida researchers were able to program bone marrow stem cells to repair damaged retinas in mice, suggesting a potential treatment for age-related macular degneration (AMD). The success in repairing a damaged layer of retinal cells in mice implies that blood stem cells taken from bone marrow can be programmed to restore a...

A prospective OCT study of patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) finds that a "microrip" of the retinal pigment epithelium was detectable in some patients at the leakage point observed on fundus fluorescein angiograms, and that closure of the microrip corresponded with resolution of the subretinal fluid. Thirteen patients...

A study on human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells cultured in a laboratory finds that activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) protects the RPE cells against oxidant-induced death. Oxidative stress is now well recognized as a likely contributor to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The mechanisms...