News, Links and Commentary
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Passive Smoking Increases Risk of Macular Degeneration
Both smoking and exposure to passive smoke are associated with a higher risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, according to research published recently in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. The researchers, from Cambridge University, also found that former smokers who had not smoked for twenty years or more had the same risk of developing AMD as non-smokers. Read more in 'Smoking and age related macular degeneration: the number of pack years of cigarette smoking is a major determinant of risk for both geographic atrophy and choroidal neovascularisation'' (Khan, JC and others, British Journal of Ophthalmology 2006, Volume 90, pages 75-80).
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Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Lucentis Compares Well to Verteporfin PDT for Wet MD
Genentech, Inc. have released positive results after the first year of their two-year Phase III trial of the wet MD drug Lucentis.
'Preliminary Data Show Lucentis Improved Vision Compared to Visudyne in Patients with Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration' (Genentech, Inc. media release at Doctor's Guide, 16 January 2006).
Note: Genentech also make Avastin, a drug that some eye specialists are currently using to treat MD despite it being approved only for the treatment of a particular cancer. Read more in a previous RetGen post, 'Wet MD - Lucentis vs Avastin' (28 September 2005).
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Data from the ANCHOR study comparing Lucentis to verteporfin (Visudyne(R)) photodynamic therapy (PDT) showed a difference in mean change in visual acuity of 18 letters for patients treated with 0.3 mg of Lucentis and 21 letters for patients treated with 0.5 mg of Lucentis from study entry compared to those treated with PDT at 12 months.
In the first year of this 2-year study, patients treated with Lucentis gained an average of 8.5 letters in the 0.3 mg dose group and 11 letters in the 0.5 mg dose group compared to patients treated with PDT, who lost an average of 9.5 letters.
'Preliminary Data Show Lucentis Improved Vision Compared to Visudyne in Patients with Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration' (Genentech, Inc. media release at Doctor's Guide, 16 January 2006).
Note: Genentech also make Avastin, a drug that some eye specialists are currently using to treat MD despite it being approved only for the treatment of a particular cancer. Read more in a previous RetGen post, 'Wet MD - Lucentis vs Avastin' (28 September 2005).
Monday, January 23, 2006
Accessible Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games
If you're visiting Melbourne, have a disability, and need to know how to get around, the new Melbourne Mobility Centre at Federation Square is the place to go. Found on the first floor of the Federation Square Car Park, you can learn more by telephone on (03) 9650 6499 (freecall 1800 735 266) or TTY on (03) 9650 9316. You can also visit the Web site at: www.accessmelbourne.vic.gov.au.
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Petition To Make Google's Word Verification Accessible
Some Google services, including Blogger, require that users type a series of letters, shown in a graphic, during sign up. The procedure is known as word verification and prevents spammers from creating accounts automatically. Graphical word verification, however, renders such services inaccessible to people who are blind.
The Google Word Verification Accessibility Petition asks Google, Inc. to make their word verification accessible to people who are blind or vision impaired. If you believe that blind users should be able to access Web services independently, please consider adding your name.
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The Google Word Verification Accessibility Petition asks Google, Inc. to make their word verification accessible to people who are blind or vision impaired. If you believe that blind users should be able to access Web services independently, please consider adding your name.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Two Patients Receive European Retinal Implants
Two patients with retinal degeneration received retinal implants from European company Intelligent Medical Implants AG during December 2005. The Learning Retinal Implant System will be clinically tested in the patients this month, according to Medgadget ('Learning Retinal Implant System', 13 January 2005).
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Calnexin Gene Mutations A Cause of AMD and RP
Now, a team of researchers at UW-Madison has taken a small but crucial step forward in the ongoing fight against retinal degeneration. Working with fruit flies, the scientists have discovered that a mutation in a common gene called calnexin can derail the light-processing activity of cells and set in motion the gradual breakdown of vision. They report their findings today in the journal Neuron.
Calnexin-found in both fruit flies and humans-functions as a cellular chaperone, ensuring that proteins "fold" or orient properly and get to the parts of the cell they need to go. It also modulates calcium levels, which is critical for proper vision.
When calnexin goes awry, however, calcium levels build up and the proteins that depend on it malfunction, says senior author Nansi Jo Colley, a medical geneticist at the UW-Madison departments of ophthalmology and genetics, and an affiliate of the Eye Research Institute.
'Scientists link a gene to degenerative blindness' (University of Wisconsin media release, 18 January 2006).
Saturday, January 21, 2006
PEDF Gene Therapy For Wet AMD
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University in the US have successfully injected a vector containing the gene for human pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) directly into the eyes of 28 patients who have wet age-related MD. The gene therapy appeared to stop further progression of the disease. The research will be published in print in the February 2006 issue (Volume 17, Number 2) of Human Gene Therapy and can be viewed online now. Read more about the research in 'Clinical Trial on Gene Therapy for Macular Degeneration Published in Human Gene Therapy' (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. media release at Genetic Engineering News, 17 January 2006).
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New Home for RPList
The Retinal Degeneration Discussion List (RPList) is now hosted by ICORS. Visit the RPList home page for current subscription information.
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Friday, January 20, 2006
RP Makes Appearance in Greenberg Novel
Joanne Greenberg's latest novel Appearances includes a character diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa. According to Amazon, Appearances will be published by Montemayor Press in the US on 30 January 2006. Reviews are already available online, including 'Uncomfortable secrets drive 'Appearances'' by Jennie A. Camp of Rocky Mountain News (13 January 2006) and 'Joanne Greenberg stumbles in examining "Appearances"' by Miriam Robinson at DenverPost.com (8 January 2006).
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Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Dutch Study Finds Diet Affects Risk of AMD
A Dutch study by Dr Redmer van Leeuwen and colleagues from the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam has found diet to affect the risk of developing AMD.
'Dietary Intake Of Antioxidants Associated With Reduced Risk Of Age-related Macular Degeneration' (Science Daily 28 December 2005).
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A diet with a high intake of beta carotene, vitamins C and E, and zinc is associated with a substantially reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration in elderly persons, according to a study in the December 28 issue of JAMA.
'Dietary Intake Of Antioxidants Associated With Reduced Risk Of Age-related Macular Degeneration' (Science Daily 28 December 2005).
Amino Acid Link to Age-Related MD
Researchers lead by Dr Johanna M. Seddon at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Devers Eye Institute in Oregon, have discovered that higher levels of an amino acid called homocysteine in the blood may show an increased risk of age-related macular degeneration.
Dietary intake of vitamins B6, B12 and folate, homocysteine levels can be reduced.
The study is published in the January issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology. Read more in the Harvard Medical School media release 'Biomarker for age-related macular degeneration found' (4 January 2006).
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Dietary intake of vitamins B6, B12 and folate, homocysteine levels can be reduced.
The study is published in the January issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology. Read more in the Harvard Medical School media release 'Biomarker for age-related macular degeneration found' (4 January 2006).
