The annual pre - ARVO

The annual pre-ARVO Vision Research Conference, organised by Elsevier Science Ltd., has become the annual highlight of a major topic-oriented meeting in vision research and the essentials of this meeting are presented in this special issue of Vision Research. The 6th Annual Vision Research Conference was held in Ft. Lauderdale on May 3 and 4, 2002, with 32 papers and 50 posters covering the latest scientific accomplishments in eight sessions: Gene-based therapies, retinal remodelling in disease, retinal regeneration, photoreceptor cell rescue by survival factors, progenitor cells and differentiation, antiapoptotic strategies, cell replacement in prosthesis, and stem cell transplantation. These topics are very timely, as in recent years a number of strategies have been developed to protect retinal neurons from stress, degeneration and death, to restore their function by transplantation or gene therapy or to replace them entirely by tissue-derived or technical implants. The aim of the meeting was to give a survey of the different types of rescue from a basic as well as a clinical perspective. Particular emphasis was placed on the mechanism of rescue of neuronal function in the retina and strategies of cellular replacement. Topics ranged from the molecular basis of cell differentiation to the potential for clinical application in degenerative eye diseases and electronic implants. More than 350 persons participated in two day meeting, packed with the latest news, presented in excellently prepared, most attractive sessions and papers followed by crisp discussions. The crowded poster session provided most interesting results and lively discussions. We are very grateful to Elsevier Science for sponsoring the meeting, to the speakers who have provided the manuscripts, to the many participants and especially to the organising team and to the chairs who helped so much to produce a most attractive meeting. Vision Research has stretched its topics to all areas of vision science, from non-invasive methods, psychophysics, through imaging techniques, computer vision, clinical vision sciences; and the present issue shows how understanding the mechanisms that mediate vision at both the cellular as well as at systemic levels greatly enhances progress in Vision Research. We wish you a most rewarding time in reading the articles of this issue.