Section: Research

Ursula Drager, M.D.

Faculty Appointment(s) In:
   Physiology

Aspects of vitamin A

Vitamin A, an essential food component, is converted within the body into two active forms, an aldehyde and an acid. The aldehyde (retinaldehyde) is a light-sensitive molecule essential to vision: it converts electromagnetic energy of light into a chemical and eventually into an electrical signal from which the brain processes information. Lack of retinaldehyde causes blindness. The acid (retinoic acid) is necessary for expression of many genes. It is vital for the proper functioning of practically all organs in the adult, and is essential for the developing embryo, in particular the emerging nervous system. While lack of retinoic acid leads to death of both adult and developing organisms, excessive retinoic acid is also catastrophic: accidental exposure of human embryos to retinoic acid, in the form of the acne drug Acutane®, causes severe malformations. The high vulnerability to exogenous retinoic acid reflects the critical dependence of the developing embryo to correct levels of retinoic acid. Dr. Dräger's work focuses on both aspects of vitamin A: on vision, and on the way by which endogenously synthesized retinoic acid influences formation of the nervous system; this includes the mechanisms through which disturbances in retinoic-acid cause malformations of the brain.

Ongoing Projects

Normal and Abnormal Visual System
Vitamin A and the Developing Eye
Vitamin-A actions in the developing retina and forebrain

Office: Shriver
Phone: (781) 642-0174
E-mail: Ursula.Drager@umassmed.edu

More on Ursula Drager's Research Research | Publications | Biography View All Sections on One Page