Mechanisms of retinopathy in premature babies teased out: Immunology research

ARS cover image is by
Dr Devy Deliyanti, one
of the paper's authors

Effective preventive therapies for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) don't exist, yet globally, there are at least 50,000 children blind from ROP. Professor Jennifer Wilkinson-Berka in the Department of Immunology leads research efforts into understanding the problem. A recently published paper shows that one form of a particular enzyme complex called NADPH oxidase (NOX) is involved in the development of retinopathy. The research indicates that blocking the action of NOX1 prevents the damage from occurring. Reference: NADPH Oxidase, NOX1, Mediates Vascular Injury in Ischemic Retinopathy. Antioxidants & Redox Signaling. V 20, No 17, 2014 DOI: 10.1089/ars.2013.5357