A clinical study conducted at
Rome's Gemelli Hospital showed that an eyedrop with nerve growth
factor (NGF) can partially repair vision damage in patients with
glioma, a brain tumor that damages the nerves that transmit
images from the retina to the brain.
The study, conducted on 18 patients ages 2-23 years old,
was led by Antonio Chiaretti, Benedetto Falsini and Riccardo
Riccardi together with the National Research Council (CNR).
"We tested the efficacy and safety of NGF, administered as
an eyedrop through the conjunctiva," said Chiaretti.
He said this method enabled the NGF to directly penetrate
the visual pathways where it could exert its action without
causing any collateral damage.
Of the 10 patients who received the NGF eyedrops versus the
eight who received a placebo, the NGF patients demonstrated
significant improvement on various vision exams conducted before
and after the study, as well as a significant increase of their
visual field.
The results improved their quality of life enough that they
were able to be more autonomous in their daily activities.
The placebo group demonstrated a progression of the
pathology with a worsening of visual acuity.
"Our results open a new road into the possible therapeutic
use of NGF in treating serious visual deficiencies caused by
gliomas of the visual pathways, encouraging research not only in
this specific field of application, but also in other types of
injuries that involve vision mechanisms, such as degenerative
retinopathy and glaucoma," said Falsini.
Neurologist Rita Levi-Montalcini was awarded the Nobel
Prize in Medicine in 1986 together with her colleague Stanley
Cohen for their discovery of NGF.
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