By the time Corey Haas was 7, the retinal disease he was born with had already stolen much of his vision. “He always clung to me or my wife,” said Corey’s father, Ethan Haas.

By the time Corey Haas was 7, the retinal disease he was born with had already stolen much of his vision. “He always clung to me or my wife,” said Corey’s father, Ethan Haas.

Results from a breakthrough study, conducted by researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine iin Philadelphia, show that gene therapy has restored significant vision in five children and seven adults who were previously blind.

SAN DIEGO -- An estimated 18 million Americans are either blind or visually impaired, and in San Diego County that number is around 105,000. Now, a local company's special device is helping improve sight for many visually impaired people, including a teacher in Imperial Beach, 10News reported.

By the time Corey Haas was 7, the retinal disease he was born with had already stolen much of his vision.

Louisville VisionWalk held its first ever event at Waterfront Park Saturday. Money raised, goes to the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Since 2006, the program has raised over $10 million for sight-saving research.

Results from a breakthrough study, conducted by researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, show that gene therapy has restored significant vision in five children and seven adults who were previously blind.

9-year-old Corey Hass figured he would never see again: suffering from an inherited disease called Leber’s congenital amaurosis, Corey was classified as legally blind. Naturally, Corey’s family was willing to try anything to give him a chance so that he could participate in normal childhood activities. Thus, when doctors at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia offered Corey an opportunity to be part of an experimental gene therapy trial, Corey and his parents decided to take the chance. Miraculously, Corey can see again. In fact, he started seeing results just four days after the procedure.

BOYNTON BEACH, FL -- You're in your 30s, you sing and play guitar, and you perform regularly at area bars and nightclubs.

Successful Experimental Procedure Gives 9-Year-Old Boy the Gene He Was Missing to Restore His Sight

Foundation Fighting Blindness Chief Research Officer Available to Discuss Medical Breakthrough

(CBS) Just over a year ago, 9-year-old Corey Haas and his family feared he would go blind. But, thanks to an experimental procedure, Corey has new outlook on life -- and everything in it.

A single injection in a patient's eye brings 'astounding' results. The findings may offer hope for those with macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.

Corey Haas used to need a high schooler to accompany him on the soccer field, to point out where the ball was.

Researchers have developed a new method for identifying retinal precursor cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (those from embryonic tissue) and induced pluripotent stem cells (those from adult skin cells). These precursor cells represent the earliest stages of retinal development. The new method results in a greater yield of retinal cells from stem cells and could be used to better understand disease processes and realize effective treatments for eye disorders.

Stratford's Jodeyne Higgins says she is having a lot of fun entertaining the audience and trying to win $100,000 for the Foundation Fighting Blindness.

Jessie Wolinsky, an Oak Park teen, will lead a team of supporters in Visionwalk ’09 on Sun., Oct. 25 at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades.

Blindness and other eye diseases could be prevented using nanoparticles, a professor from the OU College of Medicine and a team of researchers have discovered.

Foundation Fighting Blindness is a major help in raising awareness and money. The FFB has funded thousands of research studies at prominent institutions all over the world. At this time FFB is responsible for 137 grants at 59 institutions. Since its inception in 1971 the Foundation has raised more than $ 350 million.

A grey circle sits in the middle of your field of vision blocking all but the edges of your sight. Playing basketball means you cannot see the other end of the court or even the basket so you just shoot the ball in the general area and hope for the best.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness is currently running a national print public service campaign to raise public awareness of retinal degenerative disease and the critical need for increased research funding.

Blindness first began creeping up on Barbara Campbell when she was a teenager, and by her late 30s, her eye disease had stolen what was left of her sight.

More than ten million Americans are affected by retinal diseases that cause blindness. Local 12's Paula Toti has made raising awareness a personal mission. She's inspired to keep up the fight by people like 91 year old Mary of Fairfield.

At 18, I learned that I had a variety of retinitis pigmentosa. Other than being unable to drive and having difficulty recognizing people, I didn’t have a significant disability until my early 30s. I feel blessed by that because blindness is such a profound stereotype. Blindness scares people and makes it difficult to achieve. People don’t see you as you, they see you as “that blind person.” I was lucky not to have to fight that.

At first, sitting in church one Sunday, Michael Adler couldn't tell what the whitish glow in front of him was.

Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (AGTC), a privately-held, clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel systems to deliver human therapeutics, announces that AGTC has entered into an agreement with the National Neurovision Research Institute (NNRI), the clinical trial support organization for the Foundation Fighting Blindness(FFB), to collaborate in experiments using the AAV delivery system in the treatment of two genetic retinal diseases known to cause blindness at an early age. The research will be coordinated by AGTC and will be conducted at The University of Florida, Oregon Health & Science University, The University of Pennsylvania, and The University of British Columbia.

Jini Fairley has raised five children, been celebrated as a Boston Celtics "Hero Among Us" and placed top five in a 5K race, all without her sight.  But the Carroll Center for the Blind admitted the Newton resident into the Carroll Society at its 27th annual awards ceremony for her "outstanding achievement in the work force."

Benefits Foundation Fighting Blindness. 10:30 a.m. June 27, Theis Park, 47th and Oak. www.blindness.org (847-680-0100)

Olathe resident and powerlifter Patrick Donelan will join PGA golfer Tom Pernice Jr. for the Kansas City VisionWalk, which will take place June 27 at Frank A. Theis Park at Brush Creek.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Indiana’s NewsCenter) - Five hundred people laced up their shoes for the third annual VisionWalk in downtown Fort Wayne, Saturday.

MICHIGAN CITY - In a house turned office on Washington Street in Michigan City there is an eye clinic that is trying to keep some of that home-like feel by helping to support finding a cure for diseases that affect their patients.

It was a dining experience that dozens of people will never forget.

Diners attended a Dining in the Dark event put on by the Foundation Fighting Blindness at the US Grant Hotel Thursday night.

It was a dining experience that dozens of people will never forget.

Diners attended a Dining in the Dark event put on by the Foundation Fighting Blindness at the US Grant Hotel Thursday night.

Owings Mills, MD – March 26, 2009 – An innovative technology, employing a tiny capsule implanted in the eye, is stabilizing vision in people suffering from dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Encapsulated Cell Technology (ECT), developed by Rhode Island-based Neurotech, preserved vision in a majority of the 51 people who participated in a Phase II clinical trial.

In 1992, Lex Gillette’s world began to get fuzzy.

The 8-year-old boy - who was born with a visual impairment - went through a series of surgeries to restore his vision. After each procedure, for a short window of time, he could see clearly.

NBC San Diego got great coverage inside the Foundation’s Dining in the Dark experience.

Columnist Tom Blair mentions the Foundation’s Dining in the Dark.

At a recent dinner, I exhibited such poor table manners, I practically turned into a caveman: Tie tucked into my dress shirt, slouched posture with my face hovering closely over the plate, I’d abandoned my knife in favor of stabbing at the meat and bringing it up to my mouth in one chunk. I spoke to other people at the table without any effort to make eye contact. I can’t say for sure, but I’m guessing everyone else was doing the same.

For Their Benefit is a weekly listing of activities sponsored by nonprofit organizations to raise funds for programs that serve San Diegans.

Bunny Jordan, her grandson Alex Callies, and FFB Events Manager Steve Sroka appear on Milwaukee’s FOX 6 WakeUp News to promote the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the upcoming Milwaukee VisionWalk on May 31. Bunny is the Chair for the walk and Alex is the Youth Chair.

BROOMFIELD - Before basketball season started, Coach Tom Krug made one phone call to one player. He called Mandalay Middle School student Rhett Gutierrez. "And I said Rhett are you coming back to play? And if he would have said no, I would not have coached this team, that's how much he means to me," Krug said.

Amid the controlled chaos in the training room at Lloyd Irvin's Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness Academy in Clinton, where child and adolescent bodies were slung, pinned, pried and bent, 11-year-old Bjorn Brooks' temperament was calm.

At the $300-ticket, cocktail-dress-only benefit "Dinner in the Dark" on Tuesday night in the Beverly Hills Hotel Crystal Ballroom, I shamelessly ate my dinner with my fingers. But I wasn’t worried because no one could see me.

On May 12th attendees will have the chance to better understand the plight of those without site as they enjoy a gala evening in complete darkness.

Fred and Marsha Wolinsky will be honored for their leadership by the Foundation for Fighting Blindness, Los Angeles Chapter on Tue., May 12 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

The following ad supporting American Idol finalist, Scott MacIntyre, appeared in The Hollywood Reporter. Scott is affected by LCA.

Foundation Fighting Blindness' "Dining in the Dark" event at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco was a fundraiser for the organization's groundbreaking research in the field of degenerative eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and macular degeneration, which collectively affect over 10 million Americans.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness will host its fourth annual VisionWalk on Sunday, May 3 at Cypress Grove Park, 290 W. Holden Ave. in Orlando. Registration is 9 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m.

Megan Mauney was 6 when her parents realized there was something wrong.

Brendon Cavainolo has always dreamed of becoming a rocket scientist when he grows up. There's only one problem - a degenerative retinal disorder has left him legally blind.

Host Jessica Bonilla speaks with Jim Schott, Chairperson of the Vision Walk 2009 for the FFB about degenerative diseases causing blindness and resources the FFB offers to help get awareness, and fund research for a cure.

Oxford BioMedica (LSE: OXB) announced today that it has entered into a new collaboration with sanofi-aventis to develop novel gene-based medicines, utilising the Company’s LentiVector® gene delivery technology, for the treatment of ocular diseases.

Oxford BioMedica, which last year axed 13 staff, has seen its financial problems solved with a new £34m deal. The new collaboration with pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-aventis will give BioMedica enough cash to last until 2012.

There's one thing fabulously wealthy Stanford University and the cash-strapped state of California have in common: They're both selling bonds to help them through the tough times. In the next two to three weeks, Stanford will be looking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars "to ensure we have adequate liquidity and working capital, should we need it," said Randy Livingston, Stanford's CFO.

Kathy Murray has been going blind for 15 years.

Her diminishing eyesight hasn't kept her from living, and she is hoping to raise money for her team, The Optic Warriors, that will march May 9 during the VisionWalk in New York City.

FULLERTON – Guests attending the Visionary Awards Dinner where Dr. Rebecca Kammer of Fullerton was honored ate their meal in the dark to experience simulated vision loss.

With the spring event season underway, FFB’s urgent mission and committed volunteers have been featured in media nationwide.

Despite the daunting challenges of progressive hearing and vision loss from Usher syndrome, Rebecca Alexander lives life actively, courageously, and thanks to the Foundation Fighting Blindness, with tremendous hope for a cure.

Katelyn Grun is not your typical eighth grade student. At the age of seven, Katelyn was diagnosed with cone-rod dystrophy, a disease that has slowly robbed her of her vision. Today, she is legally blind. But, Katelyn and her family have not lost hope.

Elizabeth Fernandez, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, March 9, 2009

(03-08) 17:24 PST -- In a darkened room, Dean Lloyd sits before a computer screen slowly moving his head, searching for a white box on the black screen.

Deaf and blind from Usher syndrome, Steven Frank’s undeniable quest to stay connected with his friends and the community is featured in this inspiring radio story from WYPR’s The Signal (NPR in Baltimore).

February 11, 2009 - Oxford BioMedica, a gene therapy company, has announced that a planned further investment of $250,000 has been made in the company under the collaboration agreement with the Foundation Fighting Blindness through its translational research arm, the National Neurovision Research Institute.

February 2, 2009 - Judy Kahl knows how to create a buzz.

More than 200 people jammed into the Shadow Wood Country Club in Estero last week to join her in a fashion show/fundraiser to benefit Foundation for Fighting Blindness.

January 24, 2009 - Dozens of Dixon Middle School students wearing white masks bumped into each other in the hall, fumbling to adjust to their morning routine through pinhole eye slots.

January 27, 2009 - John Corneille is a man with a mission. Legally blind for many years and still practicing law in DeKalb, he finds the time to give talks on how to cope with failing eyesight and also raise funds for the Foundation Fighting Blindness.

Lynette Herman stares into the middle distance while listening to a conversation, occasionally offering up information, correcting her husband's memory or erupting with a sharp burst of laughter. There is levity in those steel grey eyes, and something else: a malfunction that reaches to the cells lining the back inside wall of the eyes. The mutation of a gene reaching back to at least the turn of the last century.

June 8, 2008 - A MUHC-led study identifies a gene responsible for Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), the most common cause of congenital blindness in infants and small children. The study, partly funded by the Foundation Fighting Blindness in Canada (FFB-C), is published in Nature Genetics.

New York - April 28, 2008 — Scientists for the first time have used gene therapy to dramatically improve sight in people with a rare form of blindness, a development experts called a major advance for the experimental technique.

February 6, 2008 - Eating meal in pitch black simulates what it’s like to be blind for more than 300 attendees. Pilot reporter shares her experience.

July 14, 2007 - Morrison founded and now manages the annual fundraiser Comic Vision and has raised more than $810,000 for research into retinitis pigmentosa (RP), macular degeneration and related retinal diseases since it launched eight years ago.

Columbia, Mo. - February 27, 2007 — Gingersnap, a 4-year-old Abyssinian, rolled lazily on the examining table while Kristina Narfstrom rubbed the cat's cinnamon-colored head.  Then, using a special viewer, Narfstrom peered deep into the 4-year-old's eyes to measure her losing battle with a disorder that is slowly killing her retinas, the thin film at the back of the eyeball that makes sight possible.