Gene therapy hits a nerve

Gene therapy in optic nerve disease.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Highlight some of the recent advances in gene therapy and gene modification for optic nerve disease to promote axon regeneration, neuroprotection, and increased visual functioning. RECENT FINDINGS Visual loss secondary to optic nerve damage occurs in numerous ophthalmologic and neurologic conditions. Damaged retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) do not regenerate once they undergo a...

Gene therapy and peripheral nerve repair: a perspective

Clinical phase I/II studies have demonstrated the safety of gene therapy for a variety of central nervous system disorders, including Canavan's, Parkinson's (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), retinal diseases and pain. The majority of gene therapy studies in the CNS have used adeno-associated viral vectors (AAV) and the first AAV-based therapeutic, a vector encoding lipoprotein lipase, is now m...

ژن درمانی Gene Therapy

Vagus nerve stimulation therapy

Over the past 5 years, and especially within the last year, there has been a rapid expansion of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS)-related preclinical research, as well as clinical studies in indications other than epilepsy. The research advances in understanding VNS are occurring in the midst of a blossoming of other forms of therapeutic brain stimulation, such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), t...

Big Hits

T here aren't many sports articles in the journal Science, so it was with great interest that I read " A Late Hit for Pro-Football Players " by Greg Miller (www. sciencemag.org). 3 This article is a very interesting compilation of recent research and developments in the area of sports-related concussion. The article highlights the efforts of Chris Nowinski, a former Harvard football standout wh...