Can Exercise Reduce Vulnerability of Retinal Cells to Age-Related Loss and Injury?

September 12, 2016

When a patient has glaucoma the cells that die are called retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). While age has traditionally thought to be a nonmodifiable risk factor for glaucoma, in a new article in Aging Cell, researchers working with middle-aged mice found that exercise in the form of daily swimming robustly protected RGCs against age-related functional loss and signs of stress after an acute injury. The effect was so potent that exercised 12-month-old mice responded to injury in a similar manner to young nonexercised 3-month-old mice.

The data provides compelling evidence that exercise can reverse negative impacts of aging in RGCs and modify their response to injury.

Click here to read the full article.

 

 



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