Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have demonstrated that vision loss associated with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) can be slowed dramatically by reprogramming the metabolism of photoreceptors in the retina.
Using a mouse model, researchers reportedly tested their hypothesis with mice with a Pde6 gene mutation, which disrupts rod metabolism leading to an RP-like disorder, who were treated so their rods could not express Sirt6, a gene that inhibits sugar metabolism. Upon examination, researchers found the treated mice had a significantly greater measure of rod and cone health than those who were untreated. Additionally, rods and cones reportedly survived longer in the treated mice.
The study was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
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Source: Columbia University Medical Center