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Management of Retinitis Pigmentosa via Platelet-Rich Plasma or Combination with Electromagnetic Stimulation: Retrospective Analysis of 1-Year Results

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Abstract

Purpose

To investigate whether the natural progression rate of retinitis pigmentosa can be decreased by subtenon autologous platelet-rich plasma application alone or combination with retinal electromagnetic stimulation.

Methods

The study includes retrospective analysis of 60 patients with retinitis pigmentosa. Patients constitute three groups with similar demographic characteristics: the combined management group (group 1) consists of 20 patients with retinitis pigmentosa (40 eyes) who received combined retinal electromagnetic stimulation and subtenon platelet-rich plasma; the subtenon platelet-rich plasma-only group (group 2) consisted of 20 patients with retinitis pigmentosa (40 eyes); the natural course (control) group (group 3) consists of 20 patients with retinitis pigmentosa (40 eyes) who did not receive any treatment. Horizontal and vertical ellipsoid zone width, fundus perimetry deviation index, and best corrected visual acuity changes were compared within and between groups after a 1-year follow-up period.

Results

Detected horizontal ellipsoid zone percentage changes were + 1% in group 1, − 2.85% in group 2, and − 9.36% in group 3 (Δp 1 > 2 > 3). Detected vertical ellipsoid zone percentage changes were + 0.34% in group 1, − 3.05% in group 2, and − 9.09% in group 3 (Δp 1 > 2 > 3). Detected fundus perimetry deviation index percentage changes were + 0.05% in group 1, − 2.68% in group 2, and − 8.78% in group 3 (Δp 1 > 2 > 3).

Conclusion

Platelet-rich plasma is a good source of growth factors, but its half-life is 4–6 months. Subtenon autologous platelet-rich plasma might more effectively slow down photoreceptor loss when repeated as booster injections and combined with retinal electromagnetic stimulation.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT04252534.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the participants of the study. We thank Prof. Dr Figen ŞERMET and the staff members of Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology.

Funding

No funding or sponsorship was received for this study or publication of this article. The rapid service fee was funded by the Ankara University Tecnopolis Institute.

Medical Writing Assistance

Medical writing and editorial assistance were provided by American Manuscript Editors Company, funded by the authors.

Authorship

All named authors meet the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship for this article, take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, and have given their approval for this version to be published.

Disclosures

All authors had full access to all of the data in this study and take complete responsibility for the integrity of the data and accuracy of the data analysis. Umut Arslan and Emin Özmert have nothing to disclose. Umut Arslan and Emin Özmert have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

Ethics committee approval for the transcranial electromagnetic stimulation study was obtained from the Ankara University Faculty of Medicine Clinical Research Ethics Committee (17-1177-18). This committe had already approved the GFs work (19-1293-18). The study was performed in accordance with the tenets of the 2013 Declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent was obtained from the patients prior to enrollment.

Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ankara University Technopolis, Ankara, Turkey

    Umut Arslan

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

    Emin Özmert

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  1. Umut Arslan
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Correspondence to Umut Arslan.

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Arslan, U., Özmert, E. Management of Retinitis Pigmentosa via Platelet-Rich Plasma or Combination with Electromagnetic Stimulation: Retrospective Analysis of 1-Year Results. Adv Ther 37, 2390–2412 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12325-020-01308-y

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