Retinitis Pigmentosa: Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

Book Description:

Retinis Pigmentosa (RP) includes a group of progressive hereditary retinal diseases involving degeneration of rod and cone photoreceptors, predominantly the former, and is one of the leading causes of hereditary blindness in the developed world. Clinical symptoms include nyctalopia, progressive visual field loss, and deterioration in visual acuity in adolescence. It affects one in 3000-5000 individuals and can be caused by mutations in more than 40 genes. In addition, Retinitis Pigmentosa may exist either alone (nonsyndromic) or as part of a neurological or systemic disorder, such as Usher's syndrome and Infantile Refsum's disease. There are few effective clinical treatments for retinitis pigmentosa which affects an estimated 1.5 million individuals worldwide. However, understanding the histopathologic changes occurring in RP is critical to understanding the rationale for current therapies, as well as to develop future therapies. This book highlights the most recent research done in the field.

Table of Contents:

Preface

Chapter I. Experimental Therapy for Retinitis Pigmentosa, pp. 1-63
(Zheng Qin Yin, Li-Feng Chen, Shi-Ying Li, Xiao-Yong Huang, Tong-Tao Zhao Shao-Jun Chen, Dong-Ling Liu, Chun-Yu Tian, Southwest Eye Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China)

Chapter II. Retinitis Pigmentosa, pp. 65-88
(Eleftherios Papathanasiou, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology & Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus)

Chapter III. Great Expectations: RPE65 Mutations in South Africa, pp. 89-110
(Lisa Roberts, George Rebello, Jacquie Greenberg, Raj Ramesar,
MRC Human Genetics Research Unit, Division of Human Genetics, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa)

Chapter IV. Diagnosis and Treatment of Retinitis Pigmentosa Based on the Pathology, pp. 111-125
(Catherine Cukras, Chi-Chao Chan, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland)

Chapter V. Mutational Analysis of RHO and RDS Genes in Patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa from Volga-Ural Region of Russia, pp. 127-137
(Lilya U. Dzhemileva, Elvira R. Grinberg, Ildar S. Zaidullin, Elza K. Khusnutdinova, Institute of Biochemistry and Genetics Ufa Scientific Center Russian Academy of Science, Russia)

Chapter VI. Physiopathology of Retinal Degeneration in Rd1 Mouse Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa: TGF-B1, Proteinases and Oxidative Stress Mechanisms, pp. 139-190
(Satpal Ahuja, Poonam Ahuja-Jensen, A. Romeo Caffe, Magnus Abrahamson, Per Ekstroma, Theo van Veen, Opthalmology Division, Dept. of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, and others)*

Chapter VII. Visual Training in Retinitis Pigmentosa Patients: Neural Plasticity and Function Recovery, pp. 191-208
(Enzo M. Vingolo, Serena Salvatore, Pier Luigi Grenga, Paolo Limoli, Dept. of Opthalmology, University “La Sapienza” of Rome, Italy, and others)*

Index