ELECTROCYCLOABLATION-A NEW TREATMENT FOR GLAUCOMA

ELECTROCYCOABLATION, A NON-INVASIVE METHOD OF REDUCING INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE, WAS SUCCESSFULLY PERFORMED ON TWENTY-SIX RABBITS. REDUCTION OF INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE WAS DEMONSTRATED TO PERSIST UNTIL THE RABBITS' REGENERATIVE CAPACITY RESTORED AQUEOUS SECRETION (14 DAYS). INDICATORS OF CILIARY PROCESS DAMAGE ON SLITLAMP, GROSS, AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION CORRELATED WITH INTENSITY OF TREATMENT AND WITH REDUCTION OF INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE. GROSS AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION ALSO DEMONSTRATED THE ABILITY OF ELECTROCYCLOABLATION TO PRODUCE IDENTICAL LESIONS IN THE PARS PLANA AND THE POSTERIOR CILIARY PROCESS REGIONS OF A SMALL NUMBER OF MONKEYS. SOME REFINEMENTS TO THE SYSTEM ARE EXPECTED TO YIELD DISCRETE LESIONS OF THE MONKEY CILIARY PROCESSES, WITH SUBSEQUENT DECREASE AQUEOUS SECRETION. THEORETICAL MODELING OF ION FLUXES, ELECTROCHEMICAL REACTIONS, ELECTROMAGNETIC POTENTIAL GRADIENTS, AND MEMBRANE PERMEABILITIES WAS DEVELOPED. PATHOLOGICAL AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF ELECTROCYCLOABLATION WERE EXPLORED, AND THE MECHANISMS WERE CORRELATED TO THEORETICAL PREDICTIONS.