Brad Fortune, OD, PhD

Speaker

Brad Fortune, OD, PhD
Senior Scientist, Director, Electrodiagnostic Services
Devers Eye Institute & Legacy Research Institute

Date and Time

Monday, November 23, 2020
11 am - 12:30 pm

Location

Zoom

Dr. Fortune's Abstract

Translational studies in glaucoma research at the Devers Eye Institute

Our research is focused on glaucoma pathophysiology. We try as best as possible to utilize findings from our studies in experimental models of glaucoma to advance clinical diagnostic approaches and to inform our interpretation of findings from our ongoing longitudinal clinical studies. Specifically, we are interested in detecting glaucomatous damage at a stage when the function of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) might be recovered to prevent permanent vision loss. We think this is important because the current clinical standard of care relies on detecting visual field loss and thinning of the inner retinal layers after RGCs (their axons, soma and dendrites) have already degenerated and disappeared. Some of the findings from ours and other laboratories indicate that abnormalities of RGC structure and function can be detected prior to this irreversible stage of permanent loss – using existing clinical instrumentation in both laboratory animals and in human patients – or at least point directly to specific advances required for clinical testing to successfully detect such abnormalities. In particular, this presentation will cover three areas in which such abnormalities can be detected using commercially-available instrumentation (yet each will likely be much better when recent advances become more widely available): 1) manifestations of early-stage axonopathy, including disruption of cytoskeletal ultrastructure and axonal transport; 2) failure of blood flow autoregulation within the optic nerve head; 3) changes in the mechanical behavior/compliance of the optic nerve head tissues.