Representatives from Prevent Blindness travel annually to Washington D.C. to advocate for Congressional support of programs and research for the visually impaired. The time spent on Capitol Hill has paid off this year with passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, signed by President Obama in December. Funding has taken some hard hits over […]
A new study conducted by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) has found that one in five Canadians with vision loss who were surveyed experience visual hallucinations, known as Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS). The study, titled “Prevalence of visual hallucinations in a national low vision client population”, published in the most recent issue […]
During the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Retina Subspecialty Day in 2015, Peter K. Kaiser, MD, described six alternative methods being looked at for delivery of anti-VEGF drugs into the retinas of individuals experiencing choroidal neovascularization (CNV). Periodic intraocular injections are currently the only procedure for halting damaging blood vessel growth and leakage. Injections are expensive, time-consuming, and burdensome on the patients, so […]
Lea Hyvärinen, MD, PhD (Honorary Professor, Rehabilitation Sciences at Rehabilitation and Education in Blindness or Impairment of Vision in Dortmund, Germany) has described social difficulties caused by types of blindness and visual impairment. In her paper, “Effect of Vision Loss on Communication and Social Skills” she writes that “many problems in communication and social skills are due to misunderstandings […]
Aerpio Therapeutics, Inc. has announced promising results from their “TIME-2” study of AKB-9778 as a treatment for diabetic retinopathy (DR). AKB-9778 alone and in combination with Lucentis® (ranibizumab) improved underlying retinopathy by 10.0%, and 11.4% compared to 8.8% of patients receiving Lucentis® alone. The clinical findings were presented by Pravin U. Dugel, M.D., at the […]
In 2014, Avalanche Biotechnologies postulated that a single injection of a new gene therapy treatment could possibly stop blood vessel growth and leakage in the wet form of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) for several years. A single injection of a drug called AVA-101 (aka sFlt-1) could create a kind of biofactory that continuously secretes a therapeutic protein […]
Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School and the University of Crete have found that high doses of statins (cholesterol-lowering medications) can effectively reduce the number of soft drusen deposits in retinas of people with dry age-related macular degeneration (dAMD). The findings from their phase I/II clinical trial were published in the recent issue of […]
by Dan Roberts A couple of changes are on the horizon which may allow visually impaired people to regain or maintain the pleasure of piloting their own private vehicles whenever and wherever they choose. The most immediate change could come from relaxation of the minimum visual acuity requirements, made possible in part by the development of bioptic […]
February is Age-related Macular Degeneration Awareness (AMD) Month From Valentine’s Day to American Heart Health Month, February is traditionally the most heart-driven month of the year. This February, Bausch + Lomb is partnering with Prevent Blindness®, the nation’s oldest volunteer eye health and safety organization, dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight, to encourage the […]