Catholic University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2011 Jul-Aug;25(6):512-20. doi: 10.1177/1545968310397201. Epub 2011 Mar 26.
To date, no specific therapy is available for optic glioma (OG)-induced visual loss.
To evaluate the effects on visual function of murine nerve growth factor (NGF) eye drop administration in children with severe visual impairment due to low-grade OGs.
Five patients with OGs and advanced optic nerve atrophy were assessed before and after a single 10-day course of 1 mg murine NGF topical administration by clinical evaluation, visual evoked potentials (VEPs), and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). VEPs, the main functional outcome measure, were recorded at baseline and 1, 30, 45, 90, and 180 days posttreatment. MRI examinations were performed at baseline and at 180 days after NGF treatment. Six untreated control patients with OGs also underwent serial VEPs, clinical testing, and MRI assessments.
After NGF treatment, median VEPs amplitude showed a progressive increase from the baseline values (P < .01). VEPs reached a maximum amplitude at 90 days (170% increase) and declined at 180 days, still remaining above the baseline level. Perception of spontaneous visual phosphenes was noted in all patients after NGF administration. MRI showed stable tumor size. In controls, clinical findings and VEPs did not show any significant change over the observation period.
The findings from the study show that NGF administration may be an effective and safe adjunct therapy in children with optic atrophy due to OGs. The beneficial effect on optic nerve function suggests a visual rescuing mechanism exerted by murine NGF on the residual viable optic pathways.
迄今为止，尚无针对视神经胶质瘤（OG）引起的视力丧失的特定疗法。
评估鼠神经生长因子（NGF）滴眼剂在因低级 OG 导致严重视力障碍的儿童中的视觉功能的影响。
对 5 名 OG 患者和视神经严重萎缩的患者进行了评估，他们在接受为期 10 天的 1mg 鼠 NGF 局部治疗前后，通过临床评估、视觉诱发电位（VEPs）和脑磁共振成像（MRI）进行了评估。主要功能结果测量的 VEPs 在基线和治疗后 1、30、45、90 和 180 天记录。在 NGF 治疗前和治疗后 180 天进行 MRI 检查。6 名未经治疗的 OG 对照患者也接受了连续的 VEPs、临床检查和 MRI 评估。
NGF 治疗后，VEPs 幅度中位数从基线值开始逐渐增加（P <.01）。VEPs 在 90 天达到最大幅度（增加 170％），并在 180 天下降，但仍高于基线水平。在 NGF 给药后，所有患者均注意到自发视觉闪光幻觉。MRI 显示肿瘤大小稳定。在对照组中，临床发现和 VEPs 在整个观察期间均未显示出任何显着变化。
该研究结果表明，NGF 给药可能是 OG 引起的视神经萎缩儿童的有效且安全的辅助治疗方法。对视神经功能的有益影响表明，鼠 NGF 对残留的存活视神经通路发挥了视觉挽救作用。
