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Evaluation of Patients With Retinitis Pigmentosa Receiving Electric Stimulation, Ozonated Blood, and Ocular Surgery in Cuba
Eliot L. Berson, MD;
Juancho F. C. Remulla, MD;
Bernard Rosner, PhD;
Michael A. Sandberg, PhD;
Carol Weigel-DiFranco
Arch Ophthalmol. 1996;114(5):560-563.
Abstract
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Objective
To evaluate the effect of intervention with electric stimulation, autotransfused ozonated blood, and ocular surgery, performed in Cuba, on the course of the common forms of retinitis pigmentosa.
Design
Ocular evaluations over 6 to 8 months before and after intervention in Cuba.
Setting
Evaluations performed at a US clinical research facility.
Patients
Ten adult patients aged 25 to 67 years with retinitis pigmentosa.
Main Outcome Measures
Visual acuity, visual field area, and electroretinogram (ERG) amplitude.
Results
No significant change in visual acuity or visual field area was observed on average between preintervention and postintervention values over a 6- to 8-month interval. Mean 30-Hz cone ERG amplitude declined by 15.5% between preintervention and postintervention values (P=.006). When data on change in visual field area from 1 statistically significant outlier were excluded from the analysis, a significant decline of 12.9% in mean visual field area was observed (P=.025).
Conclusions
These data support the conclusion that the intervention offered in Cuba provides no benefit to patients with retinitis pigmentosa as measured by visual acuity, visual field area, and ERG. The magnitudes of the mean declines observed in ERG amplitude and visual field area over a 6- to 8-month interval, relative to those reported in previous studies, raise the possibility that this intervention may worsen the course of the disease.
Author Affiliations
From the Berman-Gund Laboratory for the Study of Retinal Degenerations, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston. The authors have no proprietary interest in the products described in this article.
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