The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanisms by which laser treatment of peripheral retinas of infant monkey eyes interferes with ocular growth. This treatment is used in human infants with Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a leading cause of blindness in low birth weight children. Laser therapy has been linked to the development of high myopia seen in these children. In a pilot study we treated the retinas of one eye of two newborn rhesus monkeys. At six months of age, the treated eyes demonstrated decreased myopic shift and shorter axial elongation when compared to the unmanipulated eyes. We then investigated the expression of growth factors in the retinas of one of those monkeys and found an increased expression of TGFb, a down regulator growth factor in the treated eye when compared with the unmanipulated eye. If in fact laser treatment slows axial eye elongation and myopic shift, this therapy may have important application in other types of myopia.
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