Experimental Ocular Pharmacology
As neonatologists, we often deal with the effects of premature births. Although the survival rate of premature infants has increased over the past two decades, morbidity, and especially neurological morbidity, remains high. Our laboratory studies the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders (including leucomalacia and periventricular hemorrhage) and retinopathy of prematurity, which is the leading cause of childhood blindness. Given the importance of microcirculation in both the genesis of these pathologies (secondary to degeneration) and tissue revascularization, our unit investigates the underlying mechanisms of these processes. We focus on free radicals, pro-inflammatory factors as well as novel angiogenesis mediators.
Our work on vision problems associated with extreme prematurity has inspired us to explore potential avenues that are applicable to aging, the other extreme of life. Recently, we have tried to better understand the inflammatory mechanisms and lipid disorders responsible for dry age-related macular degeneration.