When the Baltimore Orioles’ Adam Jones makes a great catch — a feat the Gold Glove centerfielder accomplishes on a regular basis — he isn’t thinking about his retinas. But in the five seconds it takes a baseball to leave an opponent’s bat and reach Jones’ glove, his retinas are processing an enormous amount of real-time visual information — continual changes in the contrast, velocity and trajectory of the ball as it rockets out of the infield, reaches high into the stadium lights (or the sun) and descends into the outfield.
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Ben Shaberman
As the Foundation Fighting Blindness’ senior science writer, Ben writes science and research articles for the Foundation’s website, newsletters and Eye on the Cure blog. Before joining the Foundation in 2003, he worked as a staff writer for health, long-term care and hospice care organizations. Ben’s freelance essays and commentaries have been published by a variety of national newspapers and magazines.
Dr. Robert Langer’s medical technologies may someday reach 2.5 billion people, including those with retinal diseases. That’s according to venture capitalist Terry McGuire, who introduced him as a featured speaker at the Symposium on Retinal Innovation recently hosted in Boston by the Foundation Fighting Blindness. The event brought together investors and retinal scientists to discuss potential collaborations and partnerships for advancing retinal-disease treatments.
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The retina — the sight-enabling tissue lining the backs of our eyes — doesn’t get much visibility in pop culture. (Pun intended.) It rarely gets mentioned on television or in movies. And it’s ironic that the retina is critical to creating and interpreting visual art, yet is rarely explored as an artistic subject.
There is one exception to this phenomenon: Blue Man Group. No strangers to the innovative or avant garde, the multimedia theater troupe produced a lively performance about the retina that was captured on YouTube. I think you’ll find the video (and audio) to be entertaining and informative. Personally, I don’t know how they make it through an entire show wearing blue make-up with the consistency of acrylic paint.
Researchers are developing a number of promising treatment approaches for blinding retinal diseases, which include: correcting genetic defects; replacing lost retinal cells with new ones; and implanting electronic chips, like the recently FDA-approved Argus II. But, sometimes, saving vision simply comes down to keeping retinal cells alive, or at least slowing their degeneration. Known as “neuroprotection,” this approach isn’t just for the retina — it has the potential to preserve and protect all kinds of neural cells, including brain tissue and cells of the central nervous system.
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The retina is an amazingly elegant and complex tissue lining the back of the eye. Retinas make vision possible; without them, we can’t see. But most people never think about their retinas — unless, of course, they have a retinal condition affecting their vision.
I’ll always remember my first Foundation Fighting Blindness conference, when I heard Dr. Dean Bok, of the University of California, Los Angeles, discuss the retina’s design and how it worked. I was new to the field and just learning. Dr. Bok opened his presentation by saying that, as a student, he was “seduced” by the beauty of retinal science. By the end of his impassioned talk, I, too, was hooked.
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Stem cells are a highly promising treatment approach for a wide range of conditions and diseases, because they can be used to replace virtually any type of cell or tissue in the body lost to disease or injury. In the not-too-distant future, in fact, researchers will be able to turn stem cells into new photoreceptors for people who have lost vision to a retinal disease.
Definitive diagnoses for inherited retinal diseases don’t always come easy, even for the patients of the most knowledgeable doctors. Comments posted to this blog over the past year are a testament to that fact. Many readers are understandably frustrated by a doctor’s inability to determine exactly what retinal condition is affecting them or loved ones.
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Steve is highly respected for his expertise and tireless commitment to finding treatments and cures for vision-robbing retinal diseases. 
As the Foundation's senior writer, Rich writes and edits content for all of the Foundation’s print and online publications, including its blog, Eye on the Cure. 