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FRIMEDBIO-Fri prosj.st. med.,helse,biol

Non-invasive electrical stimulation as a means for preserving vision

Alternative title: Ikke-invasiv elektrostimulering for behandling av blindhet

Awarded: NOK 10.0 mill.

Can electrical stimulation improve vision? A team of researchers has been investigating the potential of electrical stimulation to improve visual function in patients with retinal diseases. Their findings suggest that electrical stimulation can reduce inflammation and improve visual function. Blindness affects about 40 million people worldwide, and treatment for vision loss, especially those caused by disease in the posterior part of the eye, the retina, remains as an unmet medical need. Retinal diseases, such as macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, can cause the loss of photoreceptor cells, leading to vision impairment or even blindness. While gene therapy and stem cell transplantation are being developed, they are still in the early stages of clinical trials. In the meantime, researchers are exploring the potential of electrical stimulation to improve visual function in patients with retinal diseases. The team of researchers, led by Dr. Dong Feng Chen at the Schepens Eye Research Institute (Boston, Massachusetts), focused on using electrical stimulation to reduce inflammation and improve visual function. They found that electrical stimulation can reduce proinflammatory activity in microglia, a type of immune cell in the retina, in vitro. To test the effect of electrical stimulation on visual function, the team conducted experiments on animal models with retinal degeneration. They applied electrical stimulation to different types of retinal cells and found that it improved visual function in animal models. The team also developed a new method of electrical stimulation called the ramp waveform, which they found was particularly effective in preserving visual function. Patent applications for this method have been filed. We hope to be able to conduct further clinical trials to investigate its potential in human patients. The team’s findings have been presented at several conferences, including the Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and the Military Vision Symposium. They have also published five papers on their research in highly-ranked journals, with several more manuscripts in development. The potential of electrical stimulation to improve visual function in patients with retinal diseases is promising. While further clinical trials are needed to investigate its safety and efficacy in human patients, the team’s research provides a valuable contribution to the development of new treatments for retinal diseases. In addition to improving visual function, the team’s research on the role of microglia in inflammation may also have broader implications for the treatment of other diseases involving inflammation in the central nervous system. Overall, the team’s research represents an exciting advancement in the field of vision research and holds significant potential for improving the lives of patients with retinal diseases.

Description of anticipated significance/benefits of the results 1. Advancements in electrical stimulation for reducing microglia proinflammatory activity in vitro could lead to new treatments for eye inflammatory diseases. 2. Methods for preserving visual function using ramp waveform electrical stimulation could benefit patients with retinal diseases and improve their quality of life. 3. Insights into the impact of electrical stimulation on various retinal cell types, which could inform future research and development of treatments for retinal diseases. 4. The patent applications filed could lead to the development of new medical devices or treatments, which could benefit patients and contribute to the advancement of the field of ophthalmology.

Blindness affects 39 million people worldwide, and treatment for vision loss, especially those caused by retinal neuron damage, remains as an unmet medical need. The leading causes of irreversible blindness in the developed world are usually diseases that affect the optic nerve (e.g. glaucoma) and retina (e.g. age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa). There is increasing evidence supporting the idea that non-invasive electrostimulation (ES) of the eye may be useful for preserving and/or restoring vision in retinal and optic nerve diseases. The potential impact of the current project, in which we aim to develop a non-invasive transpalpebral ES method for the treatment of blinding condition, is thus considerable. In 2004, Chow et al. first demonstrated the therapeutic potential of ES of the retina by reporting improved vision in patients with retinitis pigmentosa who received subretinal implants of an electrical device (e.g. microchip prosthesis) peripheral to the macula. The authors suggested a generalized neurotrophic effect of ES, an observation that sparked an enormous research interest in ES for treating blindness. However, to date, how ES improves vision in patients with retinal degeneration remains poorly understood. In this application, we have presented unpublished results from multiple in vitro and animal pilot experiments that form the foundation for the present proposal. Our main goal is to optimize ES settings for therapeutic purposes and establish the underlying mechanisms through which it works to improve vision.

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FRIMEDBIO-Fri prosj.st. med.,helse,biol

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