Institute for Ophthalmic Research

Head

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Frank Schaeffel

Associate head: Dr. rer. nat. Marita Feldkaemper

Contact

Section of Neurobiology of the Eye
Centre for Ophthalmology
Institute for Ophthalmic Research
Calwerstrasse 7/1
72076 Tübingen

Phone +49 7071/29-80739
Email frank [dot] schaeffel [at] uni-tuebingen [dot] de

Additional information

URL http://www.uak.medizin.uni-tuebingen.de/frank/index.html

Mission statement

Our goal is to uncover the biological mechanisms of myopia development and to develop strategies to inhibit its progression. Development of new optical techniques to measure eye growth and optical properties of eyes in animal models for myopia and in humans.

Methods

• measurement of refractive state and accommodation with high temporal resolution, binocularly and including pupillography and gaze tracking: infrared photoretinoscopy

• optical measurements in eyes: new phacometry and fast automated peripheral photorefraction

• measurement of ocular dimensions: low coherence interferometry and A-scan ultrasonography

• measurement of gene expression in different fundal layers: realtime RT-PCR

• screening for candidate genes for myopia with mouse and chicken microarrays

• description of activity and gene expression in individual cells: quantitative immunohistochemistry and laser microdissection with RT PCR

• testing of visual function in transgenic and wildtype mice: automated optomotor experiments and pupillography

• recording from retinal ganglion cells in vitro: MEA

• measurements of contrast adaptation due to defocus: psychophysical measurement of supra-threshold contrast sensitivity

 

Recent major results of the research

Demonstration that the retina can detect amount and sign of defocus and use this information to control the axial growth rate of the eye. Identification of the glucagon amacrine cells as a major carrier of this information and demonstration that glucagon can act as a axial eye growth inhibitor in the chicken. Analysis of the central role of the transcription factor Egr1 as an initial trigger in the signalling cascade for visual eye growth control in chickens and mice. Description of mechanisms of atropine and other muscarinic antagonists during the inhibition of myopia in animal models. Role of insulin during myopia development. Demonstration of the importance of peripheral refractive errors for the development of myopia in the central visual field in humans and chickens.

Selected publications

Brand C, Schaeffel F, Feldkaemper MP. A microarray analysis of retinal transcripts that are controlled by image contrast in mice. Mol Vis. 2007 Jun 18;13:920-32

Schaeffel F, Mathis U, Bruggemann G. Noncycloplegic photorefractive screening in pre-school children with the "PowerRefractor" in a pediatric practice. Optom Vis Sci. 2007 Jul;84(7):630-9

Schippert R, Burkhardt E, Feldkaemper M, Schaeffel F. Relative axial myopia in Egr-1 (ZENK) knockout mice. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2007 Jan;48(1):11-7

Diether S, Schaeffel F, Lambrou GN, Fritsch C, Trendelenburg AU. Effects of intravitreally and intraperitoneally injected atropine on two types of experimental myopia in chicken. Exp Eye Res. 2007 Feb;84(2):266-74

Schippert R, Schaeffel F.Peripheral defocus does not necessarily affect central refractive development. Vision Res. 2006 Oct;46(22):3935-40