ILVSG Presentation June 2016 Dan Roberts I. INTRODUCTION This is my 11th annual summary of leading research and developments that have occurred during the past 12 months in the field of blindness and low vision. I’ll take the liberty in several cases of quoting the sources, but for the sake of conversational flow, I’ll break [Read More]
Category: Research and Developments
Visual Impairment and Blindness in U.S. May Double by 2050
The findings of a recent study suggest that there is a need for increased screening and interventions to identify and address treatable causes of vision loss. With the youngest of the baby boomers hitting 65 by 2029, the number of people with visual impairment or blindness in the United States is expected to double to [Read More]
OPT-302 Enters Phase 2A Trials for Wet AMD
Opthea Limited, a developer of novel biologic therapies for the treatment of eye diseases, has randomized and dosed the first patient in the Phase 2A dose expansion clinical trial of OPT-302 for wet AMD. OPT-302 is a soluble form of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (VEGFR-3) or ‘Trap’ molecule, that blocks the activity of two [Read More]
Smoking and AMD—Are E-Cigarettes the Answer?
by Dan Roberts You’ve heard it before: “Tobacco Smoking Is A Major Cause Of Age Related Macular Degeneration”. According to most research, individuals 65 years of age and over double their risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) if they smoke. Why? Because tobacco smoking: Reduces levels of plasma antioxidant, a substance in the blood [Read More]
Experimental Gene Therapies Still Raising Hopes
Wills Eye Hospital has announced that it has treated the first RESCUE trial patient in the United States enrolled in an FDA-approved gene therapy vision research study. A product called GS010 (GenSight Biologics), can be injected right into the eye and, in a sense, “re-wire” or lower the patient’s risk for getting the disease. The patient has [Read More]