東北大学大学院医学系研究科・医学部

STAFF

Professor

• Nakazawa, ToruProfessor. 中澤 徹 教授 (兼任)
  

Other Faculty / Staff

• Kunikata, Hiroshi

  Assoc. Prof. 國方 彦志 准教授

• Tawarayama, Hiroshi

  Assistant Prof. 俵山 寛司 助教

CONTACT

OUTLINE

Japan is becoming a super-aging society. It is thus essential to ensure that the elderly remain physically and mentally robust, especially regarding vision, which has a profound influence on quality of life (QOL). Retinal diseases, which become increasingly common with age and are often intractable, greatly affect QOL. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new measures against retinal diseases that are intractable or lack sufficient treatment options.
This course was established to promote the development of new systems to evaluate the function of the retina and determine the efficacy of drugs for various intractable retinal diseases. This course also seeks to pioneer new methods of advanced medical care in the ophthalmic field, with five specific goals. (1) Develop a new system to evaluate retinal cell function. (2) Investigate new systems, including local visual sensitivity test devices, such the Micropulse P3, and methods to analyze ocular blood flow, such as laser speckle flowgraphy, and apply them to the diagnosis and treatment of ophthalmic diseases. (3) Perform a comprehensive analysis of the correlations between novel measurement parameters and visual function in clinical data. (4) Develop instruments and drugs to improve the results of ophthalmic surgery, including retinal vitreous surgery. (5) Use animal models to evaluate neuroprotective treatments and the invasion of new drugs into retinal tissue.
Using the above research approach, we aim to achieve zero blindness due to intractable eye disease, both by establishing detection and diagnostic methods for the initial stages of photoreceptor and retinal ganglion cell degeneration, and also by further elucidating the pathogenic mechanisms of both types of neurodegeneration at the cellular and molecular levels. Our laboratory highly values interdisciplinary research, and we are looking for a wide variety of people from different backgrounds.

超高齢化社会を迎えた我国では、心身ともに頑健な老後社会の実現が不可欠である。視覚はQOL（クオリティ・オブ・ライフ）に多大な影響を与える感覚の１つであり、加齢に伴い、罹患リスクが増大する難治性網膜疾患は、老後QOLを大きく損なうことにつながる。それ故、未だ治療法が確立されていない難治性網膜疾患の対策が急務となっている。
本講座は、網膜領域全ての難治性疾患に対する新しい網膜機能評価及び薬剤評価システムの構築を推進し、眼科領域における先進的医療を開拓することを目的に設立された。具体的な目標としては、新しい網膜細胞機能評価システムの開発、A局所視感度検査装置（MP3）や眼血流解析装置（LSFG）技術を用いた眼疾患診断と治療への応用、B臨床サンプルの視機能と相関させた網羅的解析、C網膜硝子体手術を含めた眼科手術成績を向上させる器具や薬剤の開発、D動物モデルを用いた神経保護治療と新規薬剤の網膜組織への侵襲評価、を掲げる。以上の研究アプローチにより、視細胞変性や網膜神経節細胞変性の初期段階からの検出診断法を確立し、さらに、これら神経変性の発症機序を細胞・分子レベルで解明することで、「難治性眼科疾患による失明ゼロ」の実現を目指す。当研究室は異分野融合型を志向しており、異なるバックグラウンドを持つ多種多様な人材を求めている。

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  An undergraduate student performing in vitro experiments
  教官の指導の下、培養実験を実施する学生

ARTICLE

Tawarayama H, et al. Glutathione Trisulfide Prevents Lipopolysaccharide-induced Inflammatory Gene Expression in Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells. Ocul Immunol Inflamm. 2020 Nov 20:1-12.
URL：https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09273948.2020.1833224?journalCode=ioii20

Kunikata H, et al. RETINAL SENSITIVITY AND VESSEL DENSITY AFTER MACULAR HOLE SURGERY WITH THE SUPERIOR INVERTED INTERNAL LIMITING MEMBRANE FLAP TECHNIQUE. Retina. 2021 Jan 1;41(1):45-53.
URL：https://journals.lww.com/retinajournal/Fulltext/2021/01000/RETINAL_SENSITIVITY_AND_VESSEL_DENSITY_AFTER.5.aspx

Asano T, et al. Ocular microcirculation changes, measured with laser speckle flowgraphy and optical coherence tomography angiography, in branch retinal vein occlusion with macular edema treated by ranibizumab. Int Ophthalmol. 2021 Jan;41(1):151-162.
URL：https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10792-020-01562-7

Kunikata H, et al. Successful surgical outcomes after 23-, 25- and 27-gauge vitrectomy without scleral encircling for giant retinal tear. Jpn J Ophthalmol. 2020 Sep;64(5):506-515.
URL：https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10384-020-00755-y

Osada U, et al. Association of retinal vessel density with retinal sensitivity in surgery for idiopathic epiretinal membrane. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2020 Sep;258(9):1911-1920.
URL：https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00417-020-04754-0