Since 1984, we have organized Satellite Symposia on Retinal Degenerations that are held in conjunction with the biennial International Congress of Eye Research. The timing and location of our Retinal Degeneration Symposia have all owed scientists and clinicians from around the world to convene and present their exciting new findings. The symposia have been arranged to allow ample time for discussions and one-on-one interactions in a relaxed atmos- phere, where international friendships and collaborations could be established. The II International Symposium (also known as the Sendai Symposium...

The topics in this volume explore the etiology, cellular mechanisms, epidemiology, genetics, models and potential therapeutic measures for the blinding diseases of retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.
Special focus is highlighted in the areas of Mechanisms of Photoreceptor Degeneration and Cell Death (extremely important because very little is known how or why photoreceptors die in these diseases, despite an abundance of genetic information), Age-Related Macular Degeneration (with several novel approaches to its analysis), Usher Syndrome (the most severe form of...

Since 1984, we have organized satellite symposia on retinal degenerations that are held in conjunction with the biennial International Congress of Eye Research. The timing and location of our Retinal Degeneration Symposia have allowed scientists and clinicians from around the world to convene and present their exciting new findings. The symposia have been arranged to allow ample time for discussions and one-on-one interactions in a relaxed atmosphere, where international friendships and collaborations could be established. The IXth International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration was held on...

During the last few years, an explosion of infonnation has come from human genetics and molecular and cell biological studies as to the genetic basis for a number of fonns of inherited retinal degenerations. These disorders have plagued mankind for millennia because they take from otherwise healthy individuals the precious gift of sight. The fundamental advances in recent years have identified a number of genes involved in the groups of diseases which hopefully will lead to discoveries that may, in the not too distant future, allow the prevention and possible cure of some of these blinding...

To create a forum for scientists and clinicians interested in degenerative retinal diseases, we began in 1984 to organize a biennial symposium on Retinal Degeneration as a satellite meeting of the International Congress of Eye Research. The timing and varying location of these meetings provides an important assembly for investigators from throughout the world to convene for presentation of their new findings on the causes and potential therapies for degenerative retinal disorders. The VIII International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration was held from July 28-25, 1998, at the Hotel Vier...