Glaucoma Treatment AC pulses can re-activate vision

Optic nerve damage in glaucoma is partially reversible
Symptoms of glaucoma (glaucoma) are damage to the optic nerve, which often results in blindness of those affected and has long been regarded as irreversible. Physicians from the Universities of Göttingen and Magdeburg and the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin have now been able to prove in a recent study that AC impulses in partially blinded glaucoma patients can lead to significant improvements in vision.

After ten days of treatment with the smallest alternating current pulses (ACS), the study led by Professor dr. Bernhard A. Sabel, Director of the Institute of Medical Psychology at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, a significant improvement in vision in partially blind patients. "The treatment led to an activation of residual vision and improvements in quality of life such as visual acuity, reading, mobility and orientation in the room", according to the announcement of the University Hospital Magdeburg. The researchers published their results in the journal "PLOS ONE".

In glaucoma, vision diminishes as a result of optic nerve damage. These were previously considered irreversible, but AC impulses can restore sight at least partially. (Image: Kadmy / fotolia.com)

Patients studied in three clinical centers
The current study involved 82 patients, 33 of whom suffered from glaucoma vision loss, 32 patients with anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (caused by inflammation, optic nerve compression or congenital anomalies such as Leber's hereditary optic atrophy), and eight patients on one Vision loss due to multiple causes. The patients were examined in the clinical centers of the Berlin Charité, the University Hospital Magdeburg and the University Medical Center Göttingen. This was divided into two groups: an experimental group with 45 patients and a control group with 37 persons.

Ten days treatment with far-reaching success
Subjects in the experimental group were treated with AC stimulation for 50 minutes each on ten days, and in the control group, treatment was given with only a very small dose of stimulation, according to the University of Magdeburg. In terms of age of the lesion and visual acuity, both groups were comparable before starting treatment, the researchers report. In the treatment, an AC pulse was given by placing electrodes on the skin near the eyes. Immediately after the therapy, the researchers checked the changes in vision and two months later, in another eye test, checked the stability of the improvements.

Restoration of vision after damage to the optic nerve
Researchers found that patients in the experimental group had significantly greater improvements (24 percent) in the detection of visual cues than in the control group (2.5 percent). This was due to improvements in the defective sector of the visual field by 59% in the treated group. "The benefit of the stimulation was stable even two months after treatment", according to the announcement of the Magdeburg University Hospital. "AC treatment is a safe and effective way of restoring vision after damage to the optic nerve," says Professor Dr. med. Bernhard A. Sabel. For the first time, proof in a large-scale study has succeeded in achieving clinically measurable improvements in vision by means of low electrical currents.

AC treatment suitable for clinical use in patients
According to the researchers, no significant side effects have occurred in any of the participants and only in a few cases did the subjects report transient, mild dizziness or headache. The study confirmed the results of previous smaller studies demonstrating the efficacy and safety of AC stimulation. These studies have already shown that well-functioning brain networks are critical for processing visual information. These can be synchronized again by the alternating current, whereby the residual vision is activated and amplified, says Prof. Sabel. Now more studies are needed to explore the mechanisms of action of the treatment even more intense. However, the current findings clearly show that "the use of AC treatment is clinically appropriate in patients with visual impairment" and, in summary, "the loss of vision that has long been considered irreversible is partially reversible," Prof Sabel. "There is light at the end of the tunnel for patients with glaucoma or optic nerve damage," the study director concluded. (Fp)