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Improvement of visual acuity after transcorneal electrical stimulation in case of Best vitelliform macular dystrophy

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Abstract

Purpose

To report an improvement of the visual acuity after transcorneal electrical stimulation (TES) in a case of Best vitelliform macular dystrophy (BVMD).

Patient and methods

A 26-year-old woman diagnosed with BVMD presented with reduced vision. Her best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was reduced to 20/200 in the right eye, and TES was performed once a month for two sessions. The current of the biphasic pulses (anodic first; duration, 10 msec; frequency, 20 Hz) was delivered using a DTL-electrode, and the duration of the TES was 30 min.

Results

The BCVA in the right eye slowly improved after the TES, and 6 months later the BCVA was 20/25. The results of Humphrey visual field tests (VF) and multifocal ERGs (mfERGs) were only slightly changed. Two years later, the BCVA decreased, and it was improved again after another session of TES with the same parameters of the electrical pulses.

Conclusion

The improvement of the visual acuity in our case of BVMD indicates that TES should be tried in other cases of retinal dystrophy. Further clinical and laboratory studies on TES are needed.

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Acknowledgments

No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned. Support of this study was provided by Research Grants on Sensory and Communicative Disorders from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Naoki Ozeki, Kei Shinoda, Hisao Ohde, Susumu Ishida & Kazuo Tsubota

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Teikyo University School of Medicine, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 186-8605, Japan

    Kei Shinoda

  3. Makuhari Ode Eye Clinic, Chiba, Japan

    Hisao Ohde

  4. Department of Ophthalmology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan

    Susumu Ishida

Authors
  1. Naoki Ozeki
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  2. Kei Shinoda
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  3. Hisao Ohde
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  4. Susumu Ishida
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  5. Kazuo Tsubota
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kei Shinoda.

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Ozeki, N., Shinoda, K., Ohde, H. et al. Improvement of visual acuity after transcorneal electrical stimulation in case of Best vitelliform macular dystrophy. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 251, 1867–1870 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-013-2341-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-013-2341-4

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