How to overcome retinal neuropathy: the fight against angiogenesis-related blindness.

The retina consists of neuronal cells of high metabolic activity that are supplied by an abundant vasculature. It is a main theme of ophthalmologic research, because retinopathies are common causes of blindness in all age groups: age-related macular degeneration in the elderly, diabetic retinopathy in the middle aged, and retinopathy of prematurity and retinoblastoma in children. Interestingly, angiogenesis underlies the pathogenesis of all these diseases, and breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier is also thought to play an important role before and throughout the process of new vessel formation. However, so far, most treatments have targeted angiogenesis only, especially vascular endothelial growth factor. Consideration of the restoration of the blood-retinal barrier should be required. In this review, we discuss the clinical manifestation, pathogenesis, and current treatment options for angiogenesis-related blindness. In addition, because of the recent introduction of novel strategies, we describe pathogenesis-based treatment options to treat angiogenesis-related blindness.