Advancing Vision Restoration with Genes & Proteins
When it comes to our health, an ounce of prevention is worth is a pound of cure. Yet, despite a person’s best efforts, he or she could develop age related macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa. Is there a way to fix the internal mechanisms that lead to vision loss or even repair what is damaged […]
Targeting and Repairing Genes: Breakthroughs in Treating Eye Diseases
Many times, the purpose of vision research is to identify genes that cause diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration and Leber Congenital Amaurosis, and then either stop the gene from causing damage or fix the troublesome gene entirely. Two research projects are focused on just that and the results are promising. Scientists from the lab […]
Light and Dark
While it is difficult to do near work like reading, writing or certain crafts like needlepoint, in low light, for the most part our eyes adjust and we can maneuver in the space or at least find the light switch. How does our eyes and brain work so that we can see both in low […]
Detecting & Fixing Eye Diseases
In eye diseases like retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration and Leber congenital amaurosis, things are going on in the cellular level that occur before anything is detected by way of a test or observation. It would be great if these changes could be detected sooner and if there was a way to stop the deterioration […]
Gene Therapy for Blindness
Recently a biotech firm in Philadelphia developed the first Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved gene therapy for blindness. The company, Spark Therapeutics, developed the therapy known as LUXTURNA™, which improves eyesight in persons with confirmed biallelic RPE65 mutation-associated retinal dystrophy, also known as Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA). Patients with this genetic mutation have severe […]