Idebenone increases chance of stabilization/recovery of visual acuity in OPA1-dominant optic atrophy

Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2020 Apr;7(4):590-594. doi: 10.1002/acn3.51026. Epub 2020 Apr 3.

Abstract

We previously documented that idebenone treatment in OPA1-Dominant Optic Atrophy (OPA1-DOA) led to some degrees of visual improvement in seven patients. We here present the results of a cohort study, which investigated the effect of off-label idebenone administration in a larger OPA1-DOA group compared with untreated patients. Inclusion criteria were: OPA1-DOA clinical and molecular diagnosis, baseline visual acuity (VA) greater than/equal to counting fingers and treatment duration greater than 7 months. We found a significant difference between the last visit and baseline VA in favor of stabilization/recovery in idebenone-treated as compared to untreated patients. This effect was retained after controlling for confounders.

Publication types

  • Observational Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Antioxidants / administration & dosage
  • Antioxidants / pharmacology*
  • Cohort Studies
  • Female
  • GTP Phosphohydrolases / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Off-Label Use
  • Optic Atrophy, Autosomal Dominant / drug therapy*
  • Optic Atrophy, Autosomal Dominant / genetics*
  • Optic Atrophy, Autosomal Dominant / physiopathology*
  • Outcome Assessment, Health Care
  • Ubiquinone / administration & dosage
  • Ubiquinone / analogs & derivatives*
  • Ubiquinone / pharmacology
  • Visual Acuity / drug effects*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Antioxidants
  • Ubiquinone
  • GTP Phosphohydrolases
  • OPA1 protein, human
  • idebenone

Grants and funding

This work was funded by Mitocon grant ; RICERCA CORRENTE grant .