简介：Thecorneahasuniquefeaturesthatmakeitausefulmodelforregenerativemedicinestudies.Itisanavascular,transparent,denselyinnervatedtissueandanypathologicalchangescanbeeasilydetectedbyslitlampexamination.Cornealsensitivityisprovidedbytheophthalmicbranchofthetrigeminalnervethatelicitsprotectivereflexessuchasblinkingandtearingandexertstrophicsupportbyreleasingneuromediatorsandgrowthfactors.Cornealnervesareeasilyevaluatedforbothfunctionandmorphologyusingstandardinstrumentssuchascornealesthesiometerandinvivoconfocalmicroscope.Alllocalandsystemicconditionsthatareassociatedwithdamageofthetrigeminalnervecausethedevelopmentofneurotrophickeratitis,araredegenerativedisease.Neurotrophickeratitisischaracterizedbyimpairmentofcornealsensitivityassociatedwithdevelopmentofpersistentepithelialdefectsthatmayprogresstocornealulcer,meltingandperforation.Currentneurotrophickeratitistreatmentsaimatsupportingcornealhealingandpreventingprogressionofcornealdamage.Novelcompoundsabletostimulatecornealnerverecoveryareinadvanceddevelopmentstage.Amongthem,nervegrowthfactoreyedropsshowedtobesafeandeffectiveinstimulatingcornealhealingandimprovingcornealsensitivityinpatientswithneurotrophickeratitis.Neurotrophickeratitisrepresentsanusefulmodeltoevaluateinclinicalpracticenovelneuro-regenerativedrugs.

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简介：Neurotrophicfactorscompriseessentialsecretedproteinsthathaveseveralfunctionsinneuralandnon-neuraltissues,mediatingthedevelopment,survivalandmaintenanceofperipheralandcentralnervoussystem.Therefore,neurotrophicfactorissuehasbeenextensivelyinvestigatedintothecontextofneurodegenerativediseases.Alzheimer'sdiseaseandParkinson'sdiseaseshowchangesintheregulationofspecificneurotrophicfactorsandtheirreceptors,whichappeartobecriticalforneuronaldegeneration.Indeed,neurotrophicfactorspreventcelldeathindegenerativeprocessesandcanenhancethegrowthandfunctionofaffectedneuronsinthesedisorders.Basedonrecentreports,thisreviewdiscussesthemainfindingsrelatedtotheneurotrophicfactorsupport–mainlybrain-derivedneurotrophicfactorandglialcellline-derivedneurotrophicfactor–inthesurvival,proliferationandmaturationofaffectedneuronsinAlzheimer'sdiseaseandParkinson'sdiseaseaswellastheirputativeapplicationasnewtherapeuticapproachforthesediseasesmanagement.