[Transconjunctival electrostimulation of eye in pathogenetic therapy of progressive myopia]

Abstract

Disorders of accommodation are acknowledged to contribute to the etiopathogenesis of myopia. A new method for treating this condition is proposed: Transconjunctival electroophthalmostimulation (TEOS). It was used in the treatment of 384 patients with progressive myopia. The treatment had a favorable impact on vision acuity and accommodation. The efficacy of treatment was the best in patients with myopia of up to 1.5 diopters; vision acuity in them increased by an average of 0.3 +/- 0.04, the accommodation volume by 2.23 +/- 0.29 diopters, and the relative accommodation reverse by 1.45 +/- 0.44 diopters. In medium and high myopia TEOS effect was less expressed as regards the vision acuity, whereas decreased accommodation virtually normalized; the subjective refraction reliably decreased (by 0.5 diopters) in all groups of examinees. Other parameters of static refraction were virtually unchanged by TEOS. Moreover, the rheographic coefficient increased from 1.59 +/- 0.66 to 2.89 +/- 0.66 and the temperature of the eyeball rose from 34.2 +/- 0.15 to 35.2 +/- 0.05 degrees C, which indicates activation of blood supply and metabolic processes under the effect of TEOS. Five-year follow-up of this cohort of patients showed the progress of myopia in just 15% of cases, versus 25% in the control group treated with drugs and accommodation training. The effect of treatment persists for one year, after which the treatment is to be repeated.