Iodine may alleviate swelling in retinitis pigmentosa patients' retinas

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-07/meae-ima072114.php

21-Jul-2014
Contact: Mary Leach
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Iodine may alleviate swelling in retinitis pigmentosa patients' retinas

Findings online in JAMA Ophthalmology

Boston – Cystoid macular edema (CME) is a common complication of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a family of retinal diseases in which patients typically lose night and side vision first and then develop impaired central vision. CME can also decrease central vision. Current treatments for CME in RP are not always effective and can lead to adverse results.

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The investigators found that the magnitude of central foveal swelling due to CME was inversely related to urinary iodine concentration when emphasizing data with more reproducible urinary iodine concentrations (p<.001) -- patients with the lowest urinary iodine levels tended to have retinas with the most swelling.

"Additional study is required to determine whether an iodine supplement can limit or reduce the extent of CME in patients with RP," said Michael A. Sandberg, Ph.D., lead author of the study and senior scientist in the Berman-Gund Laboratory for the Study of Retinal Degenerations at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.