Superoxide is an associated signal for apoptosis in axonal injury.

Optic neuropathy is the leading cause of irreversible blindness, and a paradigm for central nervous system axonal disease. The primary event is damage to retinal ganglion cell axons, with subsequent death of the cell body by apoptosis. Trials of neuroprotection for these and other neuronal diseases have mostly failed, primarily because mechanisms of neuroprotection in animals do not necessarily translate to humans.

In vivo imaging of retinal ganglion cell axons within the nerve fiber layer.

Purpose. Optic nerve injury causes loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons. The reduction in RGC counts over time in axonal injury is well studied, but the correlation with the timing of anterograde and retrograde axonal degeneration is less clear.