Research progress on optic nerve injury and regeneration

Abstract

<p indent="0mm">Humans have a good visual system. Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), which connect the eyeball to the brain, fail to regenerate after injury, eventually leading to blindness. Difficulty in regeneration can be attributed in part to inhibitory molecules in glial scar and myelin and insufficient regenerative capacity intrinsic to RGCs. In addition, RGCs undergo apoptosis after optic nerve injury, which makes the regeneration of visual system more difficult. Here, we review the causes of regeneration failure and the progress achieved in repair of the visual system. Some of the encouraging findings may be applied clinically in the future to achieve meaningful regeneration of injured optic nerves.