Exercise and retinal health

Issue title: Low Vision: Rescue, Regeneration, Restoration and Rehabilitation

Guest editors: Andrea Antal and Bernhard Sabel

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Li, Hong-Ying^{a; b; c; *} | Rong, Sheng-Sheng^b | Hong, Xi^a | Guo, Rui^b | Yang, Feng-Zhen^b | Liang, Yi-Yao^b | Li, Ang^{b; c; d} | So, Kwok-Fai^{b; c; d; e; *}

Affiliations: [a] Central Laboratory, Medical School, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China | [b] Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China | [c] Guangzhou Regenerative Medicine and Health Guangdong Laboratory, Guangzhou, China | [d] Guangdong Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Diseases, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China | [e] State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Hong-Ying Li, Ph.D, Central Laboratory, Medical School, Jinan University, 601 West Huangpu Avenue, Guangzhou 510632, China. Tel.: +86 20 8522 5841; E-mail: [email protected]. and Kwok-Fai So, Ph.D. Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University, 601 West Huangpu Avenue, Guangzhou 510632, China. E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract:  Many ocular diseases (such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and traumatic eye injuries) can result in the degeneration of retinal cells and the subsequent loss of vision. Some kinds of treatments, such as drugs, stem cell transplantation and surgery are reported to be effective in certain patients. However, no confirmatively effective, convenient and low-price intervention has been available so far. Physical exercise has been reported to exert neuroprotective effects on several neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Studies investigating the potential impacts of exercise on retinal diseases are rapidly emerging. Here we review these up-to-date findings from both human and animal studies, and discuss the possible mechanisms underlying exercise-elicited protection on retina.

Keywords: Exercise, neuroprotection, retina, microglia, oxidative stress, neurotrophic factor, adipokine, autophagy, mitochondrion

DOI: 10.3233/RNN-190945

Journal: Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, vol. 37, no. 6, pp. 571-581, 2019