From Regeneration Failure to Functional Restoration: Unlocking the Neuronal‐Intrinsic Regenerative Capacity as a Therapeutic Frontier for Optic Neuropathy and Glaucoma

This review explores how intrinsic growth barriers and inadequate activation of pro-regenerative genes impede axonal regrowth following injury, and how manipulations of these pathways facilitate axon regeneration and visual recovery in experimental models. Emerging findings suggest that these pro-regenerative molecules capable of modifying the neuronal-intrinsic regenerative capacity of RGCs can also preserve visual function in pre-clinical glaucoma models. Finally, we discuss challenges and future directions for translating these findings into therapies, including gene delivery strategies, remyelination therapeutics, and systems biology-based in silico drug screening approaches aiming to reshape the therapeutic landscape towards regenerative interventions for glaucomatous and other optic neuropathies.