vision loss

Scientists herald "breakthrough" on blindness

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:59:59 -0400

Activating the Robo4 protein in mice helped them to develop working blood vessels and ward off the kind of common physical damage that leads to blindness. And the work may point to new therapies for both macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. In some cases physical damage was not only prevented but reversed, suggesting that this new approach may eventually cure blindness in some patients.

Professor Randall Olson, director of Utah's John A. Moran Eye Center, said: "We are excited about taking this opening and moving the frontier forward with real hope for patients who have but few, often disappointing options."

Dr Hemin Chin, from the U.S. National Eye Institute, said: "Given that vascular eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, are the number one cause of vision loss in the U.S., the identification of new signaling pathways that prevent abnormal vessel growth and leakage in the eye represents a major scientific advancement."

- see this release
- read the article from the BBC

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British team targets stem cell cure for AMD

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 20:01:39 -0400

A team of British scientists say they can develop a stem cell therapy that will cure blindness caused by age-related macular degeneration within five years. They will use embryonic stem cells to repair damaged retinas. AMD is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world, with some 14 million suffering blindness in Europe as a result of the disease. The London Project to Cure AMD says it has obtained a £4 million donation to recruit leading researchers in the field. And scientists at University College London, Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, and the University of Sheffield say they will lead the project.

"Given AMD could affect up to one third of the population by 2070, and that the bulk of these will have dry AMD, the potential to create a treatment strategy for this condition is critical and may have a major impact on vision loss in the community," says Dr. Lyndon Da Cruz.

- read the article on the project from The Telegraph

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Chemotherapy connected to harsh side effects

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 19:01:39 -0500

New research appearing in the Journal of Biology shows that even low doses of chemotherapy are killing brain cells and cancer drugs are more malignant to healthy cells than diseased cells. The study focused on the effects of cisplatin, cytarabine and carmustine on rats and found that healthy cells were still dying weeks after therapy. And the harsh therapy not only targeted the dividing cells that spread cancer, but normal cells that weren't dividing. The study at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York concludes that there is solid evidence to show that chemotherapy is responsible for memory loss, vision loss and even dementia. One expert in the field said the study should act as a wake-up call and lead to new methods to protect the brains of patients subjected to chemotherapy.

- read the USA Today report

New stem cell research slows loss of vision

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 20:01:39 -0400

Researchers were able to grow new cells from embryonic stem cells and used them to slow vision loss in rats with a genetic ailment comparable to macular degeneration. The scientists--Raymond D. Lund, who had been at the University of Utah's John A. Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City, and Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology--say that their work demonstrates the utility of using new cells to substitute for the failing photoreceptor cells in the retina of the eye. Failing photoreceptor cells is a condition common to macular degeneration. The researchers injected about 20,000 cells into each of the eyes of 14 rats with a condition similar to macular degeneration. Eight rats received injections without cells. Treated rats were twice as responsive to flashes of light as untreated rats. After three months of therapy the treated rats had twice the visual acuity of untreated rats. At least one other expert said that while the research is exciting, scientists will need to note that the rat disease is not identical to macular degeneration and an immune response to the injections could spur rejection. Of particular note is that the researchers in the trial were able to consistently make the new cells from embryos, a process that necessitated the destruction of the embryos.

- read the article on the stem cell work from The Washington Post