Serum treatment

While exciting advancements are being made on the gene therapy front e.g. Luxturna, or on ReNeuron stem cell, that will help many RP patients in the years to come, proper intervention treatments that enable people suffering from RP to maintain visual function are vital for two reasons. First, they improve quality of life by enabling patients to continue to see their world. Second, they ensure the overall success of emerging gene therapies — which require some existing visual function to work.

Our team at Restore RP Vision is continuously working with researchers and doctors on effective new treatments for the international patients we serve, and we are excited to announce our new serum injection treatment. Doctors first used the serum injections to treat some anterior segment diseases as well as usher syndrome, MD, OA and Stargardt disease. The improvements were so positive that in 2012, they decided to expand its use to treat RP. Over the past seven years, thousands of RP patients have experienced significant visual improvement and stabilization from this treatment.

Here’s a detailed overview of our treatment, which is provided on an outpatient basis:

Retrobulbar injections of autologous serum. Retrobulbar injections are usually used worldwide to provide local anesthesia in the retrobulbar area (behind the globe of the eye). During serum treatment , this type of injection is utilized to deliver serum as close as possible from the retina or the optic nerve in order to better target the site of injury.

To obtain the serum, blood is drawn from the RP patient and filtered through a high speed centrifuge machine that separates out the red and white blood cells. This produces a powerful, protein and nutrient packed serum that is then injected into the patient’s eyes.

1, At middle or late stage RP, the retina blood vessels thin substantially, which destroys the microcirculation. As a result, the retina choroid lacks the necessary blood supply and cytokine (small proteins that are important to cell signaling).
2, There are different kinds of active factors in the serum that counteract the degeneration that happens as the RP progresses. These active factors include VEGF, NGF, TGF, Peptide, and nucleic acid. Serum also includes all proteins, and all the electrolytes, antibodies, antigens, hormones and exogenous substances. It’s an essential factor for the self-renewal of embryonic stem cells.
3, The active factors work to improve tissue nutrition, stimulate cell regeneration, and accelerate tissue repair.
4, Because the serum comes from the patient’s own body, there is no risk of an allergic reaction.serum injections, nerve growth factor injections, Chinese herbal injections, IV infusion, acupuncture, hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Along with the serum injections, patients will receive nerve growth factors and other Chinese herbal injection, acupuncture and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.