Through my neuro-ophthalmologist at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I am in a research study looking at mitochondrial biology in diseases of the brain. The actual testing takes place at Jefferson Hospital and occurs every six months.
All cells within the body require energy to function normally. Structures within cells called mitochondria produce this energy. Diseases of the brain such as Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Lewy Body Dementia and many others present varied symptoms, yet these different diseases are linked by abnormalities of mitochondria and energy production for cells.
Understanding decreases in cell energy production for various diseases will provide insight about how we may be able to treat them in the future. Currently there are no medications available that directly target mitochondria.
Though I do not have any of these diseases, the research study participants include people with similar symptoms without a determined cause.
I am usually at Jefferson for a few hours. The testing consists of me looking into multiple types of cameras, with different lights, different configurations of those lights, different things to focus on that often move. It is a challenge for someone with limited vision, but in the instances where I am unable to see what I am supposed to be looking at, the team member will give me verbal cues such as “Look a little to your left” or they will remind me to hold steady, for as you an imagine, doing these tests for an extended period of time grows tedious and your mind wanders. But I feel so damn grateful that a) equipment such as this exists, b) that it is a mere 38 miles from my home and c) said equipment is beyond state of the art.
By using these cameras specially designed to measure the light properties of the mitochondria of the optic nerve and retina, we hope to learn how these diseases are affecting the brain. Since ancient times, the eye has been referred to as the window to the brain. We now realize that the eye and brain are not separate, independent structures, they constantly communicate in both health and disease.
It is fascinating, isn’t it? If they can break this code, many diseases could be prevented and / or cured. Of course I would love to have my full vision restored, but I am honored to, at the very least, be a tiny part of advancing the science.
And let’s face it, where else am I going to have people clamoring to take so many pictures of me?
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