Blindness News and Research

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World through the eyes of a person with eye disease

Lighthouse International, the non-profit leader in vision healthcare, research, education and advocacy, launches a new website that features the first customizable, low-vision simulator that shows how a person with an eye disease sees the world. Visitors can choose a video from YouTube and select a filter that simulates retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy.

6 Mar 2010

2010 Federal Budget lacks substantive funding in support of heart health initiatives: HSF concerned

The Heart and Stroke Foundation (HSF) is concerned with the lack of any substantive funding in support of heart health initiatives as outlined in today's 2010 Federal Budget.

5 Mar 2010

Also in Global Health News: U.S. Ambassador to U.N.; Male circumcision; River blindness in Ecuador; Nursing shortage in Caribbean; Maternal health in Bolivia; Drug-resistant TB in North Korea; Cholera vaccine

Betty King reported to her new position as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. "Washington's Geneva mission had been without an ambassador since Warren W. Tichenor left his post on Jan. 20, 2009 - when Barack Obama was sworn in as president," according to the news service (3/3).

4 Mar 2010

Gene therapy for LCA clears another hurdle: Study

Gene therapy for a severe inherited blindness, which produced dramatic improvements last year in 12 children and young adults who received the treatment in a clinical trial, has cleared another hurdle. The same research team that conducted the human trial now reports that a study in animals has shown that a second injection of genes into the opposite, previously untreated eye is safe and effective, with no signs of interference from unwanted immune reactions following the earlier injection.

4 Mar 2010

EMA accepts the filing of Lux Biosciences' MAA for Luveniq

Lux Biosciences, Inc. today announced that the European Medicines Agency has accepted the filing of the company’s Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for the company’s lead product, Luveniq™ (LX211; oral voclosporin) for the treatment of noninfectious uveitis involving the intermediate or posterior segments of the eye.

3 Mar 2010

Advanced Cell Technology’s MA09-hRPE cells for treatment of SMD: FDA grants orphan drug designation

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a biotechnology company applying cellular technology in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation for the company’s MA09-hRPE cells for use in the treatment of Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy (SMD). As a result, the company is eligible to receive a number of benefits, including tax credits, access to grant funding for clinical trials, accelerated FDA approval and allowance for marketing exclusivity after drug approval for a period of as long as seven years.

3 Mar 2010

EMA validates Lux Biosciences' voclosporin MAA

Isotechnika Pharma Inc. today announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has validated the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) filed by its partner, Lux Biosciences, Inc., for voclosporin. Following validation of the MAA, the dossier is distributed to members of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for formal review, which is expected to take one year.

2 Mar 2010

Visually impaired children benefit from earlier introduction to long cane

When "T" started kindergarten, she was an independent, confident child who was fully able to move about in her new environment—even though she was the only visually impaired child in her school and used a long cane. T was born in 2003 with Leber's congenital amaurosis, a rare inherited eye disease, and has no light perception. She was introduced to the long cane at the early age of 14 months to foster her independence of mobility and functioning.

2 Mar 2010

Government has yet to confirm funding for ADI

With the sunset date for the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative (ADI) rapidly approaching, the government has yet to confirm whether or not funding will continue after March 31st.

1 Mar 2010

Using genetic engineering techniques in pigs, scientists create new model of diabetes

The incidence of diabetes is rising worldwide. Using genetic engineering techniques in pigs, scientists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich have created a new model of this metabolic disorder, which recapitulates many features of the disease, and promises to contribute significantly to improvements in diagnosis and therapy.

1 Mar 2010

Over 600 programs for Aboriginal Canadians with diabetes at risk of being shut, renewed federal funding needed

The federal government must renew funding for the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative (ADI) in next week's budget or more than 600 programs for Aboriginal Canadians living with diabetes are at risk of being shut down, according to the Canadian Diabetes Association and the National Aboriginal Diabetes Association (NADA).

26 Feb 2010

Comprehensive development strategy yields two potential drugs that block cancer-promoting pathways

A comprehensive drug development strategy that starts with extensive screening of potential targeting agents and then narrows down to a small-molecule prototype has yielded two potential drugs that block cancer-promoting pathways in novel ways, a team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in two papers published back-to-back online at the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.

26 Feb 2010

Retinitis Pigmentosa: Embryonic stem cells for replacement of diseased retinal cells and restoration of sight

An international research team led by Columbia University Medical Center successfully used mouse embryonic stem cells to replace diseased retinal cells and restore sight in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa. This strategy could potentially become a new treatment for retinitis pigmentosa, a leading cause of blindness that affects approximately one in 3,000 to 4,000 people, or 1.5 million people worldwide.

25 Feb 2010

Joint science advisory issues messages for diabetics at risk for heart disease and stroke

The data are inconclusive on heart risks from a class of blood sugar-lowering drugs called thiazolidinediones (TZDs) such as pioglitazone (Actos) or rosiglitazone (Avandia), but the medications should be used with close monitoring from healthcare providers according to a joint science advisory from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

24 Feb 2010

Study: Elderly people with untreated visual disorders more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease

Elderly people with visual disorders that are left untreated are significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease -- the most common form of dementia, according to a University of Michigan Health System study.

19 Feb 2010

Phase 2 study results: VEGF Trap-Eye improves vision in patients with DME

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Bayer HealthCare AG announced that VEGF Trap-Eye showed positive results in a Phase 2 study in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME).

18 Feb 2010

Researchers use model organism to test new therapies for retinal degeneration

Research by Johns Hopkins sensory biologists studying fruit flies, has revealed a critical step in fly vision. Humans with problems in this same step suffer retinal dystrophies, which manifest as visual defects ranging from mild visual impairments to complete blindness.

16 Feb 2010

Diabetic retinopathy: 5.3M U.S adults suffer

Despite major progress in diagnosis and treatment, diabetic retinopathy remains the major cause of blindness in adults under 60 in the U.S., said Thomas C. Lee, director, Retina Institute in The Vision Center at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, associate professor of clinical ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and attending physician at Doheny Eye Institute.

12 Feb 2010

Scientists uncover new gene that could help save sight of patients with inherited blindness

The international research team led by the University of Leeds found that the TSPAN12 gene is faulty in patients with a disease known as FEVR (Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy), which affects the development of the eye.