New Developments

I knew Hank well as a fellow vision scientist with a focus on cornea, and in recent years as an important member of our consulting group that interacts with industry. He was a translational scientist of the highest order. Almost all of his studies had a clinical pull as to why they were done. As everyone has noted, his scientific accomplishments were paired with a kind and gentle demeanor and a generous stance towards sharing all he knew. He was a terrific host if you were invited to visit with him and his lab.

The goal of this study was to characterize functional and anatomic sequelae of a bleb induced by subretinal injection. Subretinal injections (100 µl) of balance salt solution (BSS) were placed in the superotemporal macula of one eye in 3 cynomolgus macaques. Fellow eyes received intravitreal injections (100 µl) of BSS. Fundus photography, ocular coherence tomography (OCT) and multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) were obtained before and immediately after injection and again at intervals up to 3 months post injection.

Histological evaluation of Wistar rats after 3 or 6 month of intense cyclic light exposure. Comparable H&E stained sections of retina of control (A, D) rats vs. intense light exposed rats (B, C, E, F), from central parts of retina were evaluated. All layers of the retina were intact in control Wistar rat after 3 months (A). In intense light exposed rats, the inner and outer segments and outer nuclear layer was completely absent and a part of the inner nuclear layer was also affected (B).

Chris Murphy, DVM, Ph.D., DAVCO, founder and CEO of Ocular Services on Demand (OSOD, LLC) and EyeKor, LLC, is the recipient of the 2015 career achievement award in ocular toxicology from the Ocular Toxicology Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology.

The ability of light to enact damage on the neurosensory retina and underlying structures has been well understood for hundreds of years. While the eye has adapted several mechanisms to protect itself from such damage, certain exposures to light can still result in temporal or permanent damage. Both clinical observations and laboratory studies have enabled us to understand the various ways by which the eye can protect itself from such damage. Light or electromagnetic radiation can result in damage through photothermal, photomechanical, and photochemical mechanisms.