Eye cell damage increases risk of nearsightedness in mice

Mice with retinal degeneration exhibited a 7.38 diopter myopic shift after form deprivation, compared to a 2.41 diopter shift in wild-type mice.

• Refractive eye growth in rd1 and rd10 mice was characterized by greater hyperopia compared to wild-type mice during normal development.
• Axial length in wild-type mice increased significantly starting at 7 weeks of age, while this change was not observed in the retinal degeneration models.
• DOPAC levels, an indicator of dopamine activity, were significantly lower in rd1 and rd10 mice under normal visual conditions.
• Lower DOPAC levels correlated with greater myopic shifts in the retinal degeneration mouse models.
• The retinal degeneration models showed increased susceptibility to myopia when subjected to form deprivation, indicating a potential disruption in dopamine metabolism.

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