Neural Receptor Controls Retinal Destructive Stress

"A receptor that is already a target for treating neurodegenerative disease also appears to play a key role in supporting the retina, scientists report." That's the word from a Medical News Today post. "Without sigma 1 receptor, the Müller cells that support the retina can't seem to control their own levels of destructive oxidative stress, and consequently can't properly support the millions of specialized neurons that enable us to transform light into images, scientists report in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine. Without support, well-organized layers of retinal cells begin to disintegrate and vision is lost to diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, said Dr. Sylvia Smith, retinal cell biologist and Chairwoman of the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University." Read more.