Retina's Diet and Pharmacological Protection Mechanism

Dear Colleagues,

The retina is a complex neural network that lines the posterior part of the eye, with the specific function of transforming light in visual perception. This process starts from photoreceptors, which sense and convert the light stimulus into an electric signal by analogically modifying their membrane potentials.

Retinal dysfunction causing vision loss represents a burden with high clinical, social and economic impact, affecting a considerable number of working-age patients.

There are a lot of neurodegenerative diseases affecting the neuroretina in the eye caused by the death of retinal neurons. Many diseases which impair vision (retinitis pigmentosa, RP, age-related macular degeneration, AMD, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy) lack effective treatments. Several progressive optic neuropathies are linked with the inner retina and characterized, in particular, by retinal ganglion cell (RGC) degeneration and dysfunction.

The causes and pathophysiological mechanisms leading to dysfunction and death are various and not fully elucidated. Common mechanisms may include oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, growth factors imbalance, and glial cells dysfunction.

A neuroprotective approach may be useful to prevent and/or stop retinal damage. A lot of molecules with potential neuroprotective effects have been investigated in in vitro and in vivo retinal models. These substances tested as promising treatments for retinopathies act with different neuroprotective mechanisms. In addition to medicines, of particular interest are nutraceuticals and dietary supplements, which might be able to rescue inner retina damage.

The aim of this research topic is to collect papers on the topic, with a focus on

• pathophysiology of neurodegeneration in retinal diseases and potential mechanisms of retinal neuroprotection;
• old and new neuroprotective substances, including nutraceuticals, dietary supplements and drugs;
• issues in the identification and development of neutroprotective molecules for retinal diseases.

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• inner retina
• neurodegeneration
• neuroprotection
• dietary supplements
• drugs