(Updated 4/17/18) Pixium Vision has announced its first successful human implantation of a wireless sub-retinal implant in a patient with atrophic dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). So far, three patients have been implanted with the device, and results are promising. As reported here in October 2017, the implant, called PRIMA, acts like a tiny solar
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Cases of Glaucoma, the “Sneak Thief of Sight,” Projected to Increase Significantly in Near Future As the population of the United States ages, the number of age-related eye disease cases is projected to grow.  Glaucoma, one of the most common eye diseases, currently affects nearly 3 million people ages 40 and older, according to the
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A global coalition of patients and representative groups concerned with vision health, aging, and avoidable blindness has launched a central hub designed to bring the most up-to-date information on the various forms of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) to patients, their representatives, health care providers, and policy makers. . The Toolkit, available at www.RETINA-AMD.org, was developed
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Apellis Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has finalized the trial design for its planned Phase 3 program evaluating APL-2 for the treatment of patients with geographic atrophy (GA), aka dry macular degeneration. The Phase 3 program, planned to begin in the second half of 2018, will consist of two identical studies to assess the efficacy
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec-rzyl), a new gene therapy developed by Spark Therapeutics, to treat an inherited form of vision loss that can result in blindness.  The most prevalent inherited retinal dystrophies are retinitis pigmentosa (RP), Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) and Stargardt disease (SD), all of which have
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Please share this article with your ophthalmologist Vision rehabilitation is the standard of care for patients who are losing their vision, and ophthalmologists are key to improving access to care for these patients. Recognizing this, Lighthouse Guild is offering ophthalmologists free access to an eLearning program titled, “Introduction to Vision Rehabilitation.” Dr. Alan R. Morse,
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We reported here in 2015 that Iluvian, a unique drug implant devised by Alimera Sciences, had entered trials for treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME). The drug is a corticosteroid that has demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of DME without the need for monthly injections. Jay Prensky, MD (investigator for Alimera Sciences) reported to the
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An invitation from Julie Tye at the Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired Having just celebrated my first anniversary as president of Hadley, I want to take this opportunity to share my enthusiasm for our future together and to ask for your help. Over the course of the past year, I have grown
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by Dan Roberts (Updated 12/4/2017) Portable electronic magnifiers have come a long way in the past decade, improving clarity of vision for thousands. A natural development for those who prefer to have their hands free has been the creation of several types of headworn video devices, the leaders in the field being eSight, NuEyes, and
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by Dan Roberts Independently navigating the environment, both indoors and out, is now possible for blind and visually impaired individuals. Making that a reality are audible portable global positioning systems (GPS) and radio signaling beacons paired with smart phones. And just as exciting, this new miracle of accessibility has stirred renewed interest in something equally
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