Retinal and XXXX .

@entity5517 @entity6 @entity63 @entity2479 @entity726 @entity6391 @entity7995 @entity1781 @entity179 @entity5995 @entity989 @entity1020 @entity732 @entity1714 @entity3225
A variety of disease processes can affect the retina and/or the optic nerve, including vascular or @entity63 , inflammatory or infectious disease, and @entity179 . These disease processes may selectively damage certain parts of the retina or optic nerve, and the specific areas that are damaged may have implications for the design of potential therapeutic visual prosthetic devices. Outer @entity989 include age-related @entity1020 , pathologic @entity1714 , and @entity6391 . Although the retinal photoreceptors may be lost, the inner retina is relatively well-preserved in these diseases and may be a target for retinal prosthetic devices. Inner @entity989 include @entity989 such as @entity6 , @entity732 , and @entity989 . Other @entity989 such as @entity5517 ( @entity2479 , @entity3225 ) may affect all retinal layers. Because the inner retinal cells, including the @entity2479 cells, may be destroyed in these diseases (inner retinal or whole retinal), prosthetic devices that stimulate the inner retina may not be effective. Common @entity1781 include @entity726 , @entity7995 , and @entity1781 . Because the ganglion cell nerve fibers themselves are damaged, visual prosthetics for these diseases will need to target more distal portions of the visual pathway, such as the visual cortex. Clearly, a sound understanding of @entity5995 and @entity1781 pathophysiology is critical for designing and choosing the optimal visual prosthetic device.
