Review: Tauopathy in the retina and optic nerve: Does it shadow pathological changes in the brain?

Tau protein's versatility lies in its functions within the central nervous system, including protein scaffolding and intracellular signaling. Tauopathy has been one of the most extensively studied neuropathologies among the neurodegenerative diseases. Because the retina and optic nerve are parts of the central nervous system, we hypothesize that tauopathy also plays a role in various eye diseases. However, little is known about tauopathy in the retina and optic nerve. Here, we summarize the findings from histopathological studies on animal models and human specimens with distinct neurodegenerative diseases. Similar pathological changes of tau protein can be found in Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal lobe dementia, and glaucoma. In view of the important roles of tauopathy in the brain, it is hoped that this review can stimulate research on eye diseases of the retina and optic nerve. © 2012 Molecular Vision.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Review: Tauopathy in the retina and optic nerve: does it shadow pathological changes in the brain?

Tau protein’s versatility lies in its functions within the central nervous system, including protein scaffolding and intracellular signaling. Tauopathy has been one of the most extensively studied neuropathologies among the neurodegenerative diseases. Because the retina and optic nerve are parts of the central nervous system, we hypothesize that tauopathy also plays a role in various eye diseases. However, little is known about tauopathy in the retina and optic nerve. Here, we summarize the findings from histopathological studies on animal models and human specimens with distinct neurodegenerative diseases. Similar pathological changes of tau protein can be found in Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal lobe dementia, and glaucoma. In view of the important roles of tauopathy in the brain, it is hoped that this review can stimulate research on eye diseases of the retina and optic nerve

Synthesis, Photophysical and Photovoltaic Properties of Conjugated Polymers Containing Fused Donor–Acceptor Dithienopyrrolobenzothiadiazole and Dithienopyrroloquinoxaline Arenes

We have developed two nitrogen-bridged pentacyclic donor–acceptor dithienopyrrolobenzothiadiazole (<b>DTPBT</b>) and dithienopyrroloquinoxaline <b>(DTPQX)</b> arenes where the two outer electron-rich thiophene moieties are covalently fastened with the central electron-deficient benzothiadiazole and quinoxaline cores by two nitrogen bridges. These rigid and coplanar <b>DTPBT</b> and <b>DTPQX</b> building blocks were copolymerized with fluorene (F), carbazole (C) and cyclopentadithiophene (<b>CPDT</b>) units via Suzuki or Stille coupling polymerization to afford six new alternating copolymers <b>PFDTPBT</b>, <b>PCDTPBT</b>, <b>PCPDTDTPBT</b>, <b>PFDTPQX</b>, <b>PCDTPQX</b> and <b>PCPDTDTPQX</b>, respectively. The nitrogen bridges not only planarize the structure to induce stronger intermolecular π–π interaction but also play an important role in determining the electronic and photophysical properties of the polymers. The device based on <b>PFDTPQX</b>/PC₇₁BM (1:4, w/w) exhibited a open-circuit voltage (<i>V</i>_oc) of 0.72 V, a short-circuit current (<i>J</i>_sc) of 8.62 mA/cm² and a FF of 0.55 leading to a decent power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.40% due to the lower-lying HOMO energy level, and the highest hole-mobility of <b>PFDTPQX</b>