Investigation of the intranasal delivery method as a means of targeting therapeutic agents to the Injured retina and optic nerve.

Loading...

View/Download File

Alcal_umn_0130E_10571.pdf (19.41 MB)

Persistent link to this item

https://hdl.handle.net/11299/56318

Statistics

View Statistics

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Title

Investigation of the intranasal delivery method as a means of targeting therapeutic agents to the Injured retina and optic nerve.

Authors

Alcalá, Sandra R.

Published Date

2009-09

Publisher

Type

Thesis or Dissertation

Abstract

Ischemic optic neuropathy (ION) is a visually devastating disease process in which there is disruption of arterial blood flow to the optic nerve head. ION, both anterior and posterior, is the most common cause of sudden optic nerve-related vision loss in the developed world. In addition, traumatic optic neuropathy (TON), caused by blunt trauma to the orbit and/or face, can cause tractional, compressive, or ischemic injuries to the optic nerve as well. These types of injuries to the optic nerve can ultimately result in the death of retinal ganglion cells in the retina and, consequently, the functional loss of vision. Currently, there is no effective treatment for these types of injury. There are several issues that stand in the way of adopting treatment modalities for injuries to the optic nerve and retina. Many potential therapeutic drugs are unable to gain access to the affected cells due to the protective blood-retinal and blood-brain barrier. Neurotrophic factors are endogenous large molecular weight neuroprotective proteins that, upon injury, are released in an autocrine and paracrine fashion to reduce apoptotic cellular death. However, these factors possess inherent molecular characteristics that impede their transport through the protective blood-brain barrier. Therefore, the ability to bypass the blood-brain barrier using a non-invasive means would have great clinical potential. This study examined the viability of the intranasal delivery method as a means of targeting therapeutic agents to the injured retina and optic nerve.

Keywords

Intranasal Delivery

Neurodegeneration

Neurotrophic Factors

Optic Nerve

Retina

Neuroscience

Description

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. September 2009. Major: Neuroscience. Advisor: Dr. Linda K. McLoon. 1 computer file (PDF); vii, 195 pages.

Related to

Replaces

License

Collections

Dissertations

Series/Report Number

Funding information

Isbn identifier

Doi identifier

Previously Published Citation

Suggested citation

Alcalá, Sandra R.. (2009). Investigation of the intranasal delivery method as a means of targeting therapeutic agents to the Injured retina and optic nerve.. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/56318.

Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.