Ava K Bittner1, Kenneth Seger2. 1. Nova Southeastern University, College of Optometry, 3200 S. University Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33328, USA. abittne1@jhmi.edu. 2. Nova Southeastern University, College of Optometry, 3200 S. University Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33328, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE: A small-scale randomized controlled trial conducted by our group found that four of seven retinitis pigmentosa (RP) subjects who receivedsix weekly Transcorneal Electrical Stimulation (TES) sessions developed significant improvements in visual acuity (VA), quick contrast sensitivity function (qCSF), and/or Goldmann visual fields (GVF). We longitudinally monitored three of these participants for declining visual function due to natural RP progression to determine the duration of their responses and administered retreatments. METHODS: Over a period of 29-35 months, repeated ETDRS VA, qCSF and/or GVF tests and three to six TES treatment courses consisting of six weekly sessions were administered in each eye of three RP participants every four to 16 months in an unmasked, prospective case series study. RESULTS: For two participants, there were significant VA improvements of 44-52 letters (0.88-1.04 logMAR) and 15-23 letters (0.3-0.46 logMAR) in the worse eye at baseline after each of three or four treatment courses of TES compared to initial baseline. They had no significant decreases from baseline for VA or qCSF over 29 to 35 months, The third participant had a significant mean improvement in VA in the eye with better baseline vision (p = 0.004) and binocularly (p < 0.001) following six treatment courses over the 29-month period. For the first two participants, mean annual rates of GVF change for each eye ranged from -5% to 0% with the V4e stimulus, and -26% to +33% the III4e stimulus. The third participant's mean annual GVF changes were +14 to +35%, with a statistically significant improvement across 29 months for both the V4e and III4e stimuli in the right eye (p = 0.045; p = 0.015) and the V4e stimulus in the left eye (p = 0.047). CONCLUSION: Following encouraging visual improvements after TES that lasted for several months, it appears it may be possible to restore and prevent slowly diminishing vision over time with retreatments, which requires confirmation in a large-scale randomized controlled trial.
RCT Entities:
PURPOSE: A small-scale randomized controlled trial conducted by our group found that four of seven retinitis pigmentosa (RP) subjects who received six weekly Transcorneal Electrical Stimulation (TES) sessions developed significant improvements in visual acuity (VA), quick contrast sensitivity function (qCSF), and/or Goldmann visual fields (GVF). We longitudinally monitored three of these participants for declining visual function due to natural RP progression to determine the duration of their responses and administered retreatments. METHODS: Over a period of 29-35 months, repeated ETDRS VA, qCSF and/or GVF tests and three to six TES treatment courses consisting of six weekly sessions were administered in each eye of three RP participants every four to 16 months in an unmasked, prospective case series study. RESULTS: For two participants, there were significant VA improvements of 44-52 letters (0.88-1.04 logMAR) and 15-23 letters (0.3-0.46 logMAR) in the worse eye at baseline after each of three or four treatment courses of TES compared to initial baseline. They had no significant decreases from baseline for VA or qCSF over 29 to 35 months, The third participant had a significant mean improvement in VA in the eye with better baseline vision (p = 0.004) and binocularly (p < 0.001) following six treatment courses over the 29-month period. For the first two participants, mean annual rates of GVF change for each eye ranged from -5% to 0% with the V4e stimulus, and -26% to +33% the III4e stimulus. The third participant's mean annual GVF changes were +14 to +35%, with a statistically significant improvement across 29 months for both the V4e and III4e stimuli in the right eye (p = 0.045; p = 0.015) and the V4e stimulus in the left eye (p = 0.047). CONCLUSION: Following encouraging visual improvements after TES that lasted for several months, it appears it may be possible to restore and prevent slowly diminishing vision over time with retreatments, which requires confirmation in a large-scale randomized controlled trial.
Authors: Michael P Barry; Ava K Bittner; Liancheng Yang; Rebecca Marcus; Mian Haris Iftikhar; Gislin Dagnelie Journal: Optom Vis Sci Date: 2016-07 Impact factor: 1.973
Authors: Andreas Schatz; Johanna Pach; Mariya Gosheva; Lubka Naycheva; Gabriel Willmann; Barbara Wilhelm; Tobias Peters; Karl Ulrich Bartz-Schmidt; Eberhart Zrenner; André Messias; Florian Gekeler Journal: Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci Date: 2017-01-01 Impact factor: 4.799