Research and Education

All aspects related to vision are the focus of our research laboratory. Vision is an essential sense for humans, and we conduct various studies as clinical doctors to preserve its function. Our laboratory is particularly active in the research of retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinitis pigmentosa. We investigate the pathogenesis of these diseases and explore cell therapies such as retinal vascular regeneration using stem cells and gene therapy. As part of a collaborative project between academia and industry, we have also been advancing the development and research of a next-generation fundus imaging device using adaptive optics technology. The utilization of this new device has facilitated the visualization of retinal cells and furthered our understanding of various retinal vascular diseases. We firmly believe that the scientific thinking, intuition, and sensory perception gained through thorough research activities can lead us to new frontiers as clinical doctors.

Figure 1: Revealing the fine structure of the retina using the technology of adaptive optics (Ref 4).

Figure 2: Exploring the mechanisms of neuroprotective effects of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) (Ref 3). In our department, physician-initiated clinical trials of BCAA administration for retinitis pigmentosa were also conducted (Ref 5).

Recent Publications

1. Novel Manifestation of Retinal Hemangioblastomas Detected by OCT Angiography in von Hippel-Lindau Disease. Takahashi A, Muraoka Y, Koyasu S, Arakawa Y, Nakamura E, Tsujikawa A. Ophthalmology. 2023 Feb 10:S0161-6420(23)00113-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2023.02.008.
2. Miyata M, Kido A, Miyake M, et al. Prevalence and Incidence of Strabismus by Age Group in Japan: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study. Am J Ophthalmol. 2024;262:222-228. doi:10.1016/J.AJO.2023.11.022
3. Branched Chain Amino Acids Promote ATP Production Via Translocation of Glucose Transporters. Iwai S, Hasegawa T, Ikeda HO, Tsujikawa A. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2022 Aug 2;63(9):7. doi: 10.1167/iovs.63.9.7.
4. Human Foveal Cone and Müller Cells Examined by Adaptive Optics Optical Coherence Tomography. Kadomoto S, Muraoka Y, Uji A, Ooto S, Kawai K, Ishikura M, Nishigori N, Akagi T, Tsujikawa A. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2021 Sep 1;10(11):17. doi: 10.1167/tvst.10.11.17.
5. Ikeda HO, Hasegawa T, Abe H, et al. Efficacy and Safety of Branched Chain Amino Acids on Retinitis Pigmentosa: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2024;13(8):29. doi:10.1167/TVST.13.8.29

Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

Professor：Akitaka Tsujikawa
Program Specific Associate Professor：Sotaro Ooto
Lecturer：Tomoaki Murakami・Takanori Kameda・Manabu Miyata
Program Specific Lecturer： Yuki Muraoka・Masahiro Miyake・Masayuki Hata
Assistant Professor： Kenji Ishihara・Kenji Suda・Ayako Takahashi・Shogo Numa
Program Specific Assistant Professor：Naoko Ueda
Clinical Fellow：Eri Nakano・Yuki Mori

TEL ：+81-75-751-3248
FAX ：+81-75-752-0933
e-mail ：eye@med.kyoto-u.ac.jp
URL ：http://www.ophthalmol.kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp/