Cross-sectional AOSLO in IRD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Cross-sectional imaging and functional assessment of the retina in patients with inherited retinal diseases
IRAS ID
231501
Contact name
Mital Shah
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 26 days
Research summary
Research Summary
Inherited retinal degenerations (IRD) is the name given to a group of conditions that affect the retina and are caused by genetic mutations (permanent changes in the genetic make up of a person that causes a disease). The retina is a delicate layer that lines the back of the eye and contains cells that detect light (photoreceptors) and enable vision. Recently, new treatments such as gene therapy are being investigated for the treatment of IRDs and initial results seem promising. In order for gene therapies to be effective, treatment needs to be initiated before significant and irreversible photoreceptor damage occurs. Retinal imaging plays a major role in helping with diagnosis and to monitor the retina in patients with IRD. Current standard technologies for imaging the retina are limited by the optical quality of the eye (optical aberrations). Using standard retinal-imaging technologies, we are able to take images of the retina and see the different retinal layers, but because of the optical aberrations in the eye, we are prevented from being able to image very small features such as cone photoreceptors. Optical aberrations therefore limit our ability to observe in detail the progression of IRD on a cellular level. In recent years, a technique for correcting the optical aberrations of the eye (adaptive optics, AO) has been developed to allow high-resolution non-invasive retinal imaging.
Summary of Results
Inherited retinal degenerations (IRD) is the name given to a group of conditions that affect the retina and are caused by genetic mutations (permanent changes in the genetic make up of a person that causes a disease). The retina is a delicate layer that lines the back of the eye and contains cells that detect light (photoreceptors) and enable vision. Retinal imaging plays a major role in helping with diagnosis and to monitor the retina in patients with IRD. Newer techniques to image the retina in high-resolution enable us, for the first time, to visualise individual light detecting cells (cone photoreceptors) in the living human eye. By identifying new features from these high-resolution retinal images it is hoped that new biomarkers can be identified that can be useful for diagnosis and to monitor the retina in patients with IRD. The aim of this study was to combine functional information from photoreceptors as well as the image features from high-resolution retinal imaging to enable us to interpret image features that may be useful in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with IRD. Due to the early termination of this study, participant recruitment did not open and no participants were invited to take part in this study.
REC name
South Central - Oxford A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SC/0551
Date of REC Opinion
18 Jan 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion