Microcurrent stimulation (MCS) has been used for many years to treat muscular conditions, sports injuries, chronic pain, and bone fractures.   MCS works by administering precise amounts of electrical current through a battery operated device that delivers low-intensity electricity.  This stimulation is thought to increase blood flow to the surrounding tissue.  As a result the area being treated is better nourished, more oxygen gets to the tissue, and waste products are more efficiently removed.

Some homeopathic eye doctors and acupuncturists use this therapy to treat eye conditions like macular degeneration and glaucoma.   Dr. Edward Kondrot, board certified ophthalmologist and homeopathic doctor finds this treatment to have several benefits that include:

1. Improved Circulation
2. Stimulated Cellular and Stem Cell Activity
3. Reduced Scar tissue
4. Reduced Inflammation

The FDA regulates medical devices and has approved microcurrent devices to treat pain but they are not approved for other treatment uses. A doctor may decide to use MCS for other conditions.  Subsequently, when an approved device is used for anything other than its FDA approved indication, it is called off-label. MCS therapy for the treatment of retinal disease is considered an off-label use in the United States.

A new clinical trial to treat dry age related macular degeneration will be opening soon in Canada.  The sponsor, Eye Machine, Canada Inc. will assess the effectiveness of microcurrent electrical stimulation applied externally to improve the visual acuity in subjects with vision loss from dry (non-neovascular) age-related macular degeneration (AMD).   While not yet an open study, approximately 30 participants will be recruited who are 50 and older with a confirmed diagnosis of dry macular degeneration.  Patients who qualify for the study must have a best-corrected visual acuity of no better than 20/40 and no worse than 20/200 for each enrolled eye.   The vision loss must be attributed to dry AMD.

It is a double blind study, meaning that not all of the patients will receive the MCS therapy.   Those not receiving actual MCS therapy will get a non-active treatment from the same device, Nova Oculus™ Micro-current electrical stimulation.  Subjects will undergo a treatment session to the enrolled eyes daily for three consecutive days during the first week, followed by a treatment session on one day during week 2 with the Nova Oculus™ transpalpebral micro-current electrical stimulation device.

After a six week period visual acuity will be measured in the treated study group and the control or sham group.  If you’d like to know more about microcurrent therapy check out our e-interview by board certified ophthalmologist and homeopathic doctor, Dr. Edward Kondrot:

E-Interview on Microcurrent Therapy by Dr. Edward Kondrot

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

www.WebRN-MacularDegeneration.com