Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) replacement strategies and gene-based therapy are considered for several retinal degenerative conditions. For clinical translation, large eye animal models are required to study surgical techniques applicable in patients. Here we present a rabbit model for subretinal surgery geared towards RPE transplantation, which is versatile and cost-efficient.
The retina shares prominent similarities with the brain and thus represents a unique window to study vasculature and neuronal structure in the brain non-invasively. This protocol describes a method to study dementia using retinal imaging techniques. This method can potentially aid in diagnosis and risk assessment of dementia.
The non-human primate (NHP) is an ideal model for studying human retinal cellular therapeutics due to the anatomical and genetic similarities. This manuscript describes a method for submacular transplantation of retinal pigment epithelial cells in the NHP eye and strategies to prevent intraoperative complications associated with macular manipulation.
We present a protocol for the use of fiberoptic confocal laser microendoscopy (CLM) to non-invasively study the spatio-temporal distribution of liposomes in the eye after subconjunctival injection.