Photochemical Damage of the Retina

doi:10.1016/j.survophthal.2006.06.009

Survey of Ophthalmology

Volume 51, Issue 5, September–October 2006, Pages 461-481

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.survophthal.2006.06.009 Get rights and content

Abstract

Visual perception occurs when radiation with a wavelength between 400 and 760 nm reaches the retina. The retina has evolved to capture photons efficiently and initiate visual transduction. The retina, however, is vulnerable to damage by light, a vulnerability that has long been recognized. Photochemical damage has been widely studied, because it can cause retinal damage within the intensity range of natural light. Photochemical lesions are primarily located in the outer layers at the central region of the retina. Two classes of photochemical damage have been recognized: Class I damage, which is characterized by the rhodopsin action spectrum, is believed to be mediated by visual pigments, with the primary lesions located in the photoreceptors; whereas Class II damage is generally confined to the retinal pigment epithelium. The action spectrum peaks in the short wavelength region, providing the basis for the concept of blue light hazard. Several factors can modify the susceptibility of the retina to photochemical damage. Photochemical mechanisms, in particular mechanisms that arise from illumination with blue light, are responsible for solar retinitis and for iatrogenic retinal insult from ophthalmological instruments. Further, blue light may play a role in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration. Laboratory studies have suggested that photochemical damage includes oxidative events. Retinal cells die by apoptosis in response to photic injury, and the process of cell death is operated by diverse damaging mechanisms. Modern molecular biology techniques help to study in-depth the basic mechanism of photochemical damage of the retina and to develop strategies of neuroprotection.

Section snippets

The Retina

The retina is the innermost layer of the eyeball and it is made up of cells with vastly different functions. The outer monolayer is known as the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and inside of this is the inner neurosensory retina, which consists of photoreceptor cells, bipolar cells, ganglion cells, horizontal cells, amacrine cells, and interplexiform cells. The neurosensory retina also contains glial elements. Not only are the cells of the retina highly specialized, different areas of the

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

The term electromagnetic radiation covers radio frequency, microwave, infrared, visible (light), ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma radiation, all of which are propagated both in free space and in matter. These radiations together form the electromagnetic spectrum, although no upper or lower limit to the spectrum has been defined. Any source of radiation emits electromagnetic radiation that has a characteristic energy associated with each photon, and the photon energy increases with increasing

The Nature of Light Damage in the Retina

Light is necessary for vision but it can damage the sight organ itself—a property that has long been recognized. Light energy must be absorbed in order to cause pathological changes. The portion of energy absorbed in any tissue depends on the transparency of the tissue for the incident light. The transparency depends on the wavelength components of the light. At least three types of radiation insult arise from radiation in the spectral range 400–1400 nm, though the observable effects actually

General Aspects of Photochemical Retinal Damage in Animals

It was as recently as 1965 that Noell accidentally discovered that the retina of albino rats can be irreversibly damaged by continuous exposure for several hours or days to environmental light within the intensity range of natural light. The intensity of light that damages the retina is several orders of magnitude below the threshold of thermal injury in pigmented animals.¹⁸¹ The same damage as in albinos of different strains is produced in pigmented rats when the pupils are dilated.¹⁸³ Many

Short-term and Long-term Exposure to Sunlight

Thousands of individuals suffered macular lesions in one day in Germany in 1912, as a result of viewing a solar eclipse.²⁹⁸ Numerous cases of eclipse blindness have subsequently been reported. Eyes from patients who volunteered to stare at the sun prior to enucleation had various degrees of injury in the RPE cells 38–48 hours later, whereas only mild tubulovesicular changes of the outer segments and microtubular aggregates had occurred in the inner segments of the photoreceptors. This explains

Chromophores Probably Involved in the Initiation of Retinal Damage

At least some light damage may be initiated by the visual pigment in both rods and cones.87, 183, 241, 288 Not only does the action spectrum of light damage coincide with the absorption spectrum of rhodopsin, the degree of retinal damage is also positively correlated with the rhodopsin content in the retina before exposure to light.180, 190 Photochemical damage is reduced when the visual cycle is inhibited by anesthetic halothane or 13-cis-retinoic acid and when the rate of rhodopsin

Summary

Visual perception occurs when radiation with a wavelength between 400 and 760 nm reaches the retina. Photoreceptor cells are differentiated post-mitotic retinal neurons that are uniquely adapted to capture photons efficiently and to initiate visual transduction. Photoreceptors are normally subjected to incident light, and are maintained in an oxygen-rich environment to satisfy the high metabolic demand of these cells (which is higher than any other cells in the body). There is thus a serious

Method of Literature Search

The literature review described here was based on a comprehensive search of the PubMed database (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) from 1965 until August 2004. The terms eye or retina or retinal pigment epithelium or photoreceptor or age-related macular degeneration or lipofuscin in combination with the terms optical radiation or radiation damage or light damage or photochemical damage or blue light were used for a broad search and a sensitive search. This primary search was completed by checking the

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Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) causes size-dependent effects on intertidal fish decision-making
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Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) alters cycles of day and night, potentially modifying species' behavior. We assessed whether exposure to ALAN influences decision-making (directional swimming) in an intertidal rockfish (Girella laevisifrons) from the Southeastern Pacific. Using a Y-maze, we examined if exposure to ALAN or natural day/night conditions for one week affected the number of visits and time spent in three Y-maze compartments: dark and lit arms (“safe” and “risky” conditions, respectively) and a neutral “non-decision” area. The results showed that fish maintained in natural day/night conditions visited and spent more time in the dark arm, regardless of size. Instead, fish exposed to ALAN visited and spent more time in the non-decision area and their response was size-dependent. Hence, prior ALAN exposure seemed to disorient or reduce the ability of rock fish to choose dark conditions, deemed the safest for small fish facing predators or other potential threats.
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: The authors reported no proprietary or commercial interest in any product mentioned or concept discussed in this review. The writing of this review was funded , in part, by Torste och Rganar Soderberg Foundation, Edwin Jordan's Research Foundation, Vision Improvement Research Foundation, Crown Princess Margareta's Foundation for Vision Injury, Carmen och Bertil Regner's Eye Disease Research Foundation and Karolinska Institutet's Research Funds.

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Major ReviewPhotochemical Damage of the Retina

Abstract

Section snippets

The Retina

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

The Nature of Light Damage in the Retina

General Aspects of Photochemical Retinal Damage in Animals

Short-term and Long-term Exposure to Sunlight

Chromophores Probably Involved in the Initiation of Retinal Damage

Summary

Method of Literature Search

Arch Biochem Biophys

Exp Eye Res

Exp Eye Res

Surv Ophthalmol

J Biol Chem

Ophthalmology

J Photochem Photobiol B

Exp Eye Res

J Photochem Photobiol B

Biochim Biophys Acta

Am J Ophthalmol

Free Radic Biol Med

Trends Cell Biol

J Biol Chem

Exp Eye Res

Am J Ophthalmol

Am J Ophthalmol

Prog Retinal Eye Res

J. Nutr. J Nutr Biochem

Am J Ophthalmol

Am J Pathol

Hum Pathol

J Photochem Photobiol B

Exp Eye Res

Exp Eye Res

Exp Eye Res

Arch Biochem Biophys

—: Risk factors for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. The Eye Disease Case-Control Study Group

Arch Ophthalmol

Photic injury triggers apoptosis of photoreceptor cells

Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol

Oxygen distribution in the macaque retina

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

PO2 profiles and oxygen consumption in cat retina with an occluded retinal circulation

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

Vitreal and retinal oxygenation

Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol

The retinal oxygen profile in cats

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

Mammalian cones: disc shedding, phagocytosis, and renewal

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

The metabolism of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the eye: the possible role of docosahexaenoic acid and docosanoids in retinal physiology and ocular pathology

Prog Clin Biol Res

Macular pigment and age related macular degeneration

Br J Ophthalmol

Hemoproteins

Phototransduction by retinal ganglion cells that set the circadian clock

Science

Physiology of the choroidal vascular bed

Int Ophthalmol

Control of retinal and choroidal blood flow

Eye

Permeability of the intraocular blood vessels

Trans Ophthalmol Soc U K

Diurnal rhythm in the human rod ERG

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

Ascorbate treatment prevents accumulation of phagosomes in RPE in light damage

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

Transmission of the ocular media

Invest. Ophthalmol

The retinal pigment epithelium: a versatile partner in vision

J Cell Sci Suppl

Processing and transport of retinoids by the retinal pigment epithelium

Eye

Triplet states of porphyrin esters

J Chem Soc

A comparative study of photic injury in four inbred strains of albino rats

Curr Eye Res

Retinal oxygen tension and the electroretinogram during arterial occlusion in the cat

Major Review
Photochemical Damage of the Retina