As the Foundation reported back in February, the Argus II retinal prosthesis, developed by Second Sight Medical Products, received marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
For those of us on the front lines of fighting blindness — whether we’re raising funds, conducting research or stand to personally benefit from the results — the device’s approval is one of the most exciting milestones in vision restoration ever achieved.
Continue Reading…
As I wind down the week at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), I’d like to introduce an intriguing therapeutic approach to retinal degeneration that would be a home run if perfected. It’s called retinal regeneration, and it happens to be right in line with the National Eye Institute’s life-changing audacious goal, announced on Monday: “to regenerate the neurons and neural connections in the eye and visual system.”
Continue Reading…
One of the promising emerging approaches to restoring vision in people with advanced retinal diseases is a form of therapy known as optogenetics. In essence, this type of treatment restores light sensitivity — and, potentially, meaningful vision — to people who have very little, if any, vision remaining. An important benefit of optogenetics is that it should work regardless of the underlying genetic defect causing the disease. While it is too early to speculate how well optogenetics will ultimately work, we’re hoping it ends up retiring a lot of white canes. Continue Reading…
I am always pleased to hear reports on human studies for retinal diseases. And such is the case with a research poster I just reviewed at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) annual meeting. It described a new clinical trial underway for a potentially life-changing gene therapy for people with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (MERTK mutations) taking place at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital in Saudi Arabia.
Continue Reading…
The National Eye Institute (NEI) just announced that fighting blindness — retinal degenerations, in particular — has gotten audacious. It’s potentially life-changing news for people with these difficult conditions.
Continue Reading…
I am excited to be reporting to you live from Seattle where about 10,000 of the world’s top eye researchers are convening for the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). While researchers from many different ophthalmic fields are present at ARVO, it is the world’s largest gathering of retinal scientists. Continue Reading…
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.
Continue Reading…
A Foundation-funded research team at the University of Pennsylvania — in collaboration with scientists from Michigan State University, the University of Florida and the University of Miami — has found a remarkable way to restore function to fledgling cones, the retinal cells most critical to our daily lives. Drs. András Komáromy and Gutavo Aguirre injected a high dose of a protein called ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) into the eyes of older dogs with achromatopsia, a retinal disease that causes day blindness from cone dysfunction and degeneration. What happened next is extraordinary.
Continue Reading…
There’s no denying that collaboration is key to every aspect of the Foundation’s work – whether it’s researchers sharing their findings among peers to advance treatments, volunteers banding together to fundraise for events or venture capitalists investing in start-up companies developing vision-saving treatments. And my new role, as board secretary for the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research, or NAEVR, is no exception.
I’ve been conducting or overseeing scientific research for more than 40 years (yikes!), but I continue to be humbled by its nuances, complexities and ambiguities. Sometimes, just when you think you have something figured out, you find evidence to the contrary. Sometimes, as Vladimir Lenin said, progress is made by taking “one step back, two steps forward.”
Continue Reading…
Steve is highly respected for his expertise and tireless commitment to finding treatments and cures for vision-robbing retinal diseases. Read More...
As the Foundation's senior science writer, Ben writes science and research articles for the Foundation’s website, newsletters and Eye on the Cure blog. Read More...
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. Read More...
