Biomaterials in Retinal Regeneration

Retinal degenerative diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa, Leber congenital amaurosis, and Stargardt macular dystrophy, result in the progressive loss of retinal pigment epithelium, retinal ganglion cells, and photoreceptors. These cells do not proliferate spontaneously, and their death inevitably leads to vision loss. Retinal diseases remain the leading cause of irreversible blindness, affecting hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide. Researchers, aiming to reverse the loss of retinal cells, have developed different approaches with the aim of achieving retinal regeneration. Current retinal regeneration methods, including gene delivery, stem cell transplantation, and tissue engineering, and the role of biomaterials in supporting retinal regenerative treatments will be discussed herein.