Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jun;52(3):741-746.
doi: 10.55730/1300-0144.5368. Epub 2022 Jun 16.

Outcomes of transcorneal electrical stimulation therapy in the early stages of retinitis pigmentosa

M Necati Demir  1 , Uğur Acar  2 , Güngör Sobacı  3 , Dinçer Göksülük  4
Affiliations

Outcomes of transcorneal electrical stimulation therapy in the early stages of retinitis pigmentosa

M Necati Demir et al. Turk J Med Sci. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

Background: To investigate the effect of transcorneal electrical stimulation (TES) therapy in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

Methods: We performed TES therapy in 21 patients with RP in 12 sessions with 1-week intervals. The following parameters obtained before and after the TES therapy were compared statistically; the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA, logMAR), Ishihara color vision level, multifocal electroretinography (mf-ERG) response, automated visual field (VF) outcome, and the 25-item low vision quality-of-life (LVQOL) questionnaire points.

Results: The mean age of patients (6 females; 15 males) was 31.67 ± 9.80 years (20-50 years). While increases in BCVA level, color vision level, mf-ERG response in p1 amplitude of ring 1, and LVQOL questionnaire points were statistically significant, changes in VF test and other mf-ERG responses were not. Twenty of the patients (95.24%) stated that they were satisfied with the TES therapy. No considerable side effect was observed in any patient due to the therapy.

Discussion: The TES therapy may be an effective and safe treatment modality in slowing the RP progression, especially in the early stages of the disease. Longer-term follow-ups in larger patient populations are warranted.

Keywords: Multifocal electroretinography; retinitis pigmentosa; tes therapy; transcorneal electrical stimulation; visual field.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure
Figure
Multifocal electroretinography response of a patient with retinitis pigmentosa before and after TES therapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hartong DT, Berson EL, Dryja TP. Retinitis pigmentosa. Lancet. 2006;368:1795–809. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69740-7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schatz A, Röck T, Naycheva L, Willmann G, Wilhelm B, et al. Transcorneal electrical stimulation for patients with retinitis pigmentosa: A prospective, randomized, sham-controlled exploratory study. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. 2011;52( 7):4485–4496. doi: 10.1167/iovs.10-6932. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schatz A, Pach J, Gosheva M, Naycheva L, Willmann G, et al. Transcorneal electrical stimulation for patients with retinitis pigmentosa: A prospective, randomized, sham-controlled follow-up study over 1 year. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. 2017;58( 1):257–269. doi: 10.1167/iovs.16-19906. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fujikado T, Morimoto T, Matsushita K, Shimojo H, Okawa Y, et al. Effect of transcorneal electric stimulation in patients with nonarteritic ischemic optic neuropathy or traumatic optic neuropathy. Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology. 2006;50:266–273. doi: 10.1007/s10384-005-0304-y. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Inomata K, Shinoda K, Ohde H, Tsunoda K, Hanazono G, et al. Transcorneal electrical stimulation of retina to treat longstanding retinal artery occlusion. Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology. 2007;245( 12):1773–1780. doi: 10.1007/s00417-007-0610-9. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources