1755 |
LeRoy reports visual sensations generated by applying an electrical current to the eye surface of a blind patient.
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1873 |
Dor proclaims that electrical stimulation (ES) is effective in the treatment of various eye diseases, based on anecdotal evidence from patients.
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2002 |
Morimoto shows that directly applying ES to a stump of a severed optic nerve in rats improved the survival of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs).
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2004 |
Chow carries out study of inactive retinal microchip that only generated subthreshold currents from light. Visual improvement in areas far from the chip were induced in patients with retinitis pigmentosa, suggesting that ES induced a general neuroprotective effect.
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2005 |
Morimoto suggests that one of the mechanisms behind TES induced neuroprotection in rats is the secretion of IGF-1, a neurotrophic factor, from Müller cells.
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2006 |
Fujikado applies transcorneal electrical stimulation (TES) to patients with nonarteritic anterior optic ischemic neuropathy (NAION) or traumatic optic neuropathy (TON), and notes improvement in visual acuity of most patients.
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2009 |
Ni applies repeated TES (every 3 days) to Sprague-Dawley rats, and shows it protects against retinal degeneration better than one-time exposure
Tagami compares different protocols (0/2/3/14 times over 14 days) of TES on rats with crushed optic nerve and finds daily stimulation to be the most effective method of promoting RGC survival and optic nerve regeneration. |
2010 |
Kurimoto shows that TES increases blood flow in eye, which might be a mechanism that protects against ischemic damage (e.g. in NAION).
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2011 |
Schatz carries out pilot study of TES on patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which shows enhanced visual field and improved rod cell performance.
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