# Photoreceptor Function in ROP

> **NIH NIH R01** · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · 2020 · $629,458

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Advances in neonatal care have led to increased survival of even the tiniest infants who have been born before
term (9 months). Prematurity has long term consequences for health, vision and retinal function. Retinopathy of
prematurity (ROP) is an active disease in early infancy and, in view of the improved neonatal care, puts an
increasing number of infants in jeopardy of lifelong eye problems including poor vision and refractive errors
such as high myopia. It has been estimated that the number of “blind years” for which a preterm infant is
destined may equal that encountered by adults with some of the most common eye problems. A team of
experienced investigators with complementary expertise present a proposal for non-invasive studies in children
with a history of prematurity, with or without ROP, to fill gaps in knowledge about vision, retinal function, and
refractive error. The studies, organized into four Specific Aims, are designed to test hypotheses about ROP rod
photoreceptor signals to post receptor retinal neurons (Aim 1), the structure to function relationships in the
central retina that includes the fovea and mediates some of the most important visual functions (Aim 2); and
the role of retinal and choroidal parameters as determinants of eye size and refractive error (Aim 3). These
experiments follow a cross-sectional design with subjects (aged 10 to 20 years) stratified by ROP severity
(Aims 1 and 2) or grouped by myopia or emmetropia (Aim 3). A longitudinal study (Aim 4) of infants with a
history of severe posterior ROP will compare visual, refractive and retinal development in those treated using
an intra-vitreal anti-VEGF agent to those treated using laser ablation of the peripheral retina. The long term
objectives are to achieve new understanding of the ROP disease process and its aftermath including visual
impairment and high refractive error, particularly high myopia.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9878852
- **Project number:** 5R01EY010597-23
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** ANNE B FULTON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $629,458
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1994-03-01 → 2023-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9878852

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9878852, Photoreceptor Function in ROP (5R01EY010597-23). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9878852. Licensed CC0.

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