Cellular responses following retinal injuries and therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative diseases

Retinal neurodegenerative diseases like age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and retinitis pigmentosa each have a different etiology and pathogenesis. However, at the cellular and molecular level, the response to retinal injury is similar in all of them, and results in morphological and functional impairment of retinal cells. This retinal degeneration may be triggered by gene defects, increased intraocular pressure, high levels of blood glucose, other types of stress or aging, but they all frequently induce a set of cell signals that lead to well-established and similar morphological and functional changes, including controlled cell death and retinal remodeling. Interestingly, an inflammatory response, oxidative stress and activation of apoptotic pathways are common features in all these diseases. Furthermore, it is important to note the relevant role of glial cells, including astrocytes, Müller cells and microglia, because their response to injury is decisive for maintaining the health of the retina or its degeneration. Several therapeutic approaches have been developed to preserve retinal function or restore eyesight in pathological conditions. In this context, neuroprotective compounds, gene therapy, cell transplantation or artificial devices should be applied at the appropriate stage of retinal degeneration to obtain successful results. This review provides an overview of the common and distinctive features of retinal neurodegenerative diseases, including the molecular, anatomical and functional changes caused by the cellular response to damage, in order to establish appropriate treatments for these pathologies.

Women sport injuries: a retrospective study of elite windsurfers

This study was designed to identify the injuries of professional women windsurfers, from their anatomical location, type of sport, context when they occurred, type of injury, the time of inactivity as a result of the same, the type of health care received and the relationship between the number of injuries and the position in the final classification of professional windsurfing competitions. We gave a retrospective questionnaire to 18 women elite windsurfers, who took part in the World Cup competition held in Fuerteventura (2008). Women are injured more frequently during training than competition (77.8%; p<0.05 vs. 20.5%). Women suffer leg injuries more than men (83.3%; p<0.05 vs. 14.3%) in freestyle. Serious injuries were more frequent for women (66.7%; p<0.05 vs. 28.2%) and the time of inactivity due to the injury was shorter for women (50%; p<0.05 vs. 20.5%). These results indicate that female windsurfers are more liable to suffer injuries, generally serious, during training sessions. Freestyle involves a greater risk of leg injuries for women. The knee is the area where most injuries occur, both for men and women, followed by the legs.

Kinematics of eyelid movement and eye retraction in the blinking

Resumen del póster expuesto en el 6th EOS Topical Meeting on Visual and Physiological Optics (EMVPO 2012), Dublín, 20-22 Agosto 2012.