With the support of the Evelyn Trust, Dr Peter Thomas, a consultant paediatric ophthalmologist, is leading a very intriguing research project that could, in the long term, provide enormous benefits for patients with diseases of the eye, including glaucoma and the rare Stickler Syndrome.

There are two main threads in Peter’s research, as he explains,

“I’m very interested in the extreme periphery of the retina, near an area called the ora serrata. We don’t yet understand the function of the extreme peripheral retina, although as it contains a very large number of light sensitive cone cells, it may help with our extreme peripheral vision. We hope to gain the clue to this mystery through our research.

“The other thread is to evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on patients with Stickler Syndrome. This rare condition causes giant retinal tears, which lead to blindness. Some years ago in Cambridge we proved that using cryotherapy – extreme cold – to create a protective scar around the peripheral retina reduces the risk of retinal detachment very significantly. This treatment has proved so successful that Addenbrooke’s Hospital is now the national referral centre for Stickler Syndrome patients.

“However, the exact impact of this treatment on patients’ peripheral vision is hard to determine and historically we have just asked patients to describe it. To try to get a more scientific, objective understanding, we have developed a psychophysical experiment that will test patients’ extreme peripheral vision before and after cryotherapy. This involves patients reacting to stimuli they see on screen, in a similar way to an ordinary visual field eye test, but over many hours and in much more detail.”

Earlier this year, Peter recruited a very talented young researcher to start the project moving and they are now in the process of recruiting a cohort of patients with Stickler Syndrome. The research is at an early stage and a full report is expected late in 2019. 

Peter’s ultimate aim is to improve understanding of the impacts on cryotherapy on vision, so he can devise more complete, detailed information for patients with Stickler Syndrome before treatment. Glaucoma is a cause of blindness and affects thousands of people in the UK: Peter is hopeful that this psychophysical test could be used ultimately to pick up deterioration in peripheral vision at a very early stage in patients with possible glaucoma and that could help to save many people’s sight.

Dr Peter Thomas is a consultant at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and also a visiting academic in Professor John Mollon’s Cambridge Lab. To find out more, visit:

https://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/consultant/peter-thomas