Stargardt Disease News and Research

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Stargardt disease, also known as Stargardt macular dystrophy or juvenile macular degeneration, is a condition that involves the retina of the eye. The retina is the layer of the eye which is responsible for sensing light. Most people with Stargardt disease have some loss of vision at a young age, either as a child or an adolescent, although some people may retain good vision until adulthood. It is estimated that about 1 in 10,000 people has Stargardt disease.

Can genome editing transform ocular disease treatment?

The discovery and development of gene-editing technologies and their applications in managing ocular diseases.

3 Aug 2023

Discovery points to a new understanding of Stargardt disease progression

Using a new stem-cell-based model made from skin cells, scientists found the first direct evidence that Stargardt-related ABCA4 gene mutations affect a layer of cells in the eye called the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE).

27 Oct 2022

NIH study provides a framework to evaluate Stargardt disease progression

National Eye Institute researchers developed and validated an artificial-intelligence-based method to evaluate patients with Stargardt, an eye disease that can lead to childhood vision loss.

25 Jan 2022

Cryo-ET reveals molecular mechanisms underlying gene mutations within the eye

For the first time, University of California, Irvine researchers in collaboration with the Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry, have revealed, at a molecular level, key structural determinants of the highly specialized rod outer segment (ROS) membrane architecture of the eye, which is instrumental to vision.

5 Jan 2022

Fight for Sight funds research to explore gene editing as treatment for inherited retinal diseases

Fight for Sight is funding cutting-edge research at UCL, which will explore whether gene editing could be used to repair faults in genes for some inherited retinal diseases.

1 Apr 2021

Pioneering stem cell research may help restore sight to people with macular diseases

Eye research charity Fight for Sight has announced funding for a ground-breaking stem cell research study which could reverse sight loss for people with macular diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and juvenile macular dystrophies.

12 Nov 2020

FDA awards six clinical trial research grants to enhance development of therapies for rare diseases

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it has awarded six new clinical trial research grants to principal investigators from academia and industry totaling over $16 million over the next four years.

8 Oct 2020

Microperimetry can help determine the efficacy of novel treatments for macular diseases

Stargardt disease is an inherited eye disease. Its onset is typically in adolescence and it is among the leading causes of blindness in this age group. Symptoms range from severe loss of sharp vision to almost complete loss of sight.

2 Jun 2020

Study shows how our eyes recycle vitamin A

Many of us will remember been told as kids when we refused to eat our vegetables that 'carrots are good for your eyes'. Although our parents may not have fully understood it at the time, there is some truth to this. Carrots are a rich source of the vitamin A essential for healthy vision.

11 May 2020

Gene therapy approach could pave the way for treatment of Stargardt disease

A leading Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford has shared the details of his research which could pave the way for a new treatment for sight loss condition Stargardt disease.

7 Feb 2020

Gentle combination of FDA-approved drugs could combat photoreceptor degeneration in mice

In microseconds, every light ray that enters the eye triggers an explosion of coordinated cellular events.

29 Aug 2016

Combinations of FDA-approved drugs may prevent vision loss linked to retinal degeneration

Combinations of Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs protect against the loss of cells required for vision in a mouse model of blinding retinal diseases.

4 Aug 2016

Study pinpoints how immune abnormalities in retina may lead to macular degeneration

In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a University of Wisconsin-Madison research team pinpoints how immune abnormalities beneath the retina result in macular degeneration, a common condition that often causes blindness.

19 Jul 2016

Makindus' MI-100 granted EMA orphan drug designation for treatment of Stargardt's Disease

Makindus, Inc. a specialty pharmaceutical development company focused on ophthalmology announced today that the European Medicines Agency has granted orphan drug designation for their lead candidate, MI-100, for the treatment of Stargardt's Disease.

4 May 2015

Envision Conference 2014 kicks off with presentation of two prestigious awards

Envision announced today that Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., a San Fernando Valley, Calif.-based medical device manufacturer, and Janet Sunness, M.D., Medical Director of Richard E. Hoover Low Vision Rehabilitation Services at Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Towson, Md., were named the 2014 recipients, respectively, of the Envision Oculus Award and Envision Award in Low Vision Research, two prestigious honors acknowledging substantial contributions to furthering research and facilitating collaborative efforts toward addressing low vision and the conditions that cause it.

19 Sep 2014

ACT announces European phase I clinical trial for Stargardt's disease using retinal pigment epithelial cells

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, today announced treatment of the first patient in the third dosage cohort, and seventh patient overall, in its European Phase I clinical trial for Stargardt's macular dystrophy (SMD) using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

26 Apr 2013

Lack of very long chain fatty acids does not cause blindness in children with Stargardt type 3

Vision scientists long have thought that lack of very long chain fatty acids in photoreceptor cells caused blindness in children with Stargardt type 3 retinal degeneration, an incurable eye disease. But researchers at the University of Utah's John A. Moran Eye Center have shown in a new study that lack of these fatty acids does not cause blindness, meaning that the search for the mechanism that robs sight from children with the disease must start anew.

12 Mar 2013

Foundation Fighting Blindness grants US$125,000 to Oxford BioMedica for UshStat Phase I/IIa trial

Oxford BioMedica plc, the leading gene-based biopharmaceutical company, today announces that the US non-profit organisation, the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB), has granted an award of US$125,000 to the Company via its translational research arm, the Foundation Fighting Blindness Clinical Research Institute (FFBCRI) formerly known as the National Neurovision Research Institute (NNRI).

23 Jul 2012

Otsuka, Acucela commence rebamipide ophthalmic suspension Phase 3 trial in dry eye syndrome

Acucela Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing new treatments for blinding eye diseases, and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., today announced the initiation of a Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate rebamipide ophthalmic suspension in patients with dry eye syndrome.

19 Jul 2012

ACT treats fourth patient in U.S. clinical trial for Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, today announced treatment of the fourth patient, the first in the second patient cohort, in its U.S. clinical trial for Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy (SMD).

13 Jul 2012