Selective transplantation of rods delays cone loss in a retinitis pigmentosa model

S Mohand-Said, D Hicks, H Dreyfus… - Archives of …, 2000 - jamanetwork.com
Background Rod-cone retinal degenerations (retinitis pigmentosa) are typified by initial rod
loss followed by secondary cone death. Rod death, predominantly caused by gene
mutations expressed specifically in these cells, induces scotopic vision loss. Cone death, the
overriding cause of blindness, has no current explanation. Disease progression and
preliminary data suggest that cone survival depends on rods. Objective To establish whether
rod transplantation into mutant rodless retinas could halt cone loss. Methods We …