3 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This study has two parts. The study team will evaluate transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) and two sham settings during a passive task while measuring pupillary response. Second, the study team will assign either taVNS, sham, or no intervention during a go/no-go task and evaluate perceptual learning over three sessions which will also include measuring the pupillary response and electroencephalogram (EEG).
This is both a prospective and retrospective study of patients with a known diagnosis of optic neuritis (ON) only, multiple sclerosis (MS) with ON, or neuromyelitis spectrum disorder (NMOSD) with ON. There will be no requirement for blinding (patient or assessor) and data collected with the Reflex app will be compared against other data that track optic nerve functional status, such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), visual fields (VF), low-contrast sensitivity, MRI orbits/brain and visual evoked potentials (VEP). Patients who have any diagnosis of ON, with or without a diagnosis of MS or NMOSD and who have had testing using other modalities such as VEPs, VF, low-contrast sensitivity studies, OCT, and MRI of brain or orbits will be included as retrospective subjects in the study. In this cohort, RAPD assessments will be completed and compared to against the data that has accrued as noted.
The basic objective of this project is to test a modification of existing technology for monitoring the responses of the pupil to light as a method for detecting regional losses of function of the retina. The "instrument" consists of a commercially available set of goggles that monitor the eye positions and pupils using infrared light and small cameras. The signals from the monitoring cameras are collected in a computer that records how their pupils have responded to each lighting condition. Because diabetics develop damage initially to certain parts of the retina before they have more serious damage, the ultimate goal of this research is to develop a simple, noninvasive, rapid method for widespread screening of diabetics in order to identify those who may require medical attention and/or therapy for diabetic retinopathy.