Abstract
Purpose: :
To investigate whether transcorneal electrical stimulation (TES) has neuroprotective effects on photoreceptors and preserves retinal function in rhodopsin P347L transgenic (P347L) rabbits.
Methods: :
Six-week-old P347L rabbits received TES through a contact lens electrode on the left eye weekly for 6 weeks. The right eyes received sham stimulation on the same days. Scotopic and photopic electroretinograms (ERGs) were recorded at 6 weeks (before TES) and 12 weeks of age. After the ERG recordings, the animals were killed for morphologic analyses of the retina.
Results: :
Photopic ERG studies showed that TES significantly preserved retinal function (a wave: 24.2 µV vs 19.9 µV;b wave: 132 µV vs 113 µV,n = 5, P < 0.05 each). Morphologic analyses showed that the mean thickness of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) at visual streak at 12 weeks of age was significantly thicker in eyes treated with TES than in eyes with sham stimulation (mean thickness 13.9 µm vs 8.8 µm, n=5 each, P <0.001).
Conclusions: :
TES prolongs the survival of photoreceptors at visual streak and delays the decrease of retinal function in P347L rabbits.
Keywords: neuroprotection • retinitis • retina