Search

The Seventh Symposium on Ocular and Visual Development was held in October, 1982. The aim of the meeting was to develop a broad perspective on visual acuity. The subject was discussed initially in terms of molecular events of photoreception, and the metabolism of the photoreceptor ele­ ments. Subsequent papers presented the development and complexity of the neurocircuitry and transmitter systems in the retina that process the visual information prior to transfer to the brain. The meeting concluded with a series of papers on behavioral and physiological methods of mea­ surement of visual acuity in humans, particularly young children. This volume arose from the papers presented at the meeting. We feel that the juxtaposition of research of broadly differing methodologies will be stim­ ulating, rather than daunting, and will generate an enhanced understand­ ing of this complex subject. We are indebted to our colleagues: Dr. M. Mote from Temple University, and Drs. J. Siegfried, P. Dayhaw-Barker, and L. Press from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry for their expertise and assistance in the organization of the meeting; to the speakers for their presentations and contributions to this volume; and to the reviewers of the manuscripts for their helpful comments. This symposium could not have been held without the generous support of the Temple University College of Arts and Sciences and the Pennsyl­ vania College of Optometry. We also thank Merck, Sharp and Dohme, Inc. for their donation.

To create a forum for scientists and clinicians interested in degenerative retinal diseases, we began in 1984 to organize a biennial symposium on Retinal Degeneration as a satellite meeting of the International Congress of Eye Research. The timing and varying location of these meetings provides an important assembly for investigators from throughout the world to convene for presentation of their new findings on the causes and potential therapies for degenerative retinal disorders. The VIII International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration was held from July 28-25, 1998, at the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Schluchsee, a small town in the Black Forest of southwestern Germany. Most of the participants in this meeting contributed to this volume, and we are appreciative of the efforts of each author in making this publication possible. The research presented at the meeting, and described in this proceedings volume, reflects a strong emphasis on the molecular genetic approach to understa- ing these disorders. Several of the papers provide important new insights into the mechanism of photoreceptor degeneration and cell death. A number of the studies are targeted at retarding or reversing the degeneration process. Included for the first time are presentations from all the principal laboratories involved in the field of visual prostheses-implant (chip) technology-in which investigations are targeted at restoring vision in eyes that have lost photoreceptor cells. A variety of diagnostic, clinical, histopathological, and physiological assessments of retinal degeneration in patients are also included.