RetGen

... researchers at the RWTH Aachen University of Technology developed a special device for sufferers of retinitis pigmentosa. The prosthetic consists of two parts: a high-tech pair of glasses and an implant that is surgically placed in the eye.

A tiny video camera is built into the glasses, along with an encoder that converts images into signals the nerves understand. The signals are then sent wirelessly to a receiver that has been implanted into the ocular lens.

The signals are then transferred to a micro contact film via a miniscule cable. These lie directly on the retina and stimulate with electrodes the nerve cells that lead to the optic nerve.

Eugene Hollenbach, the retinal specialist who treats Mrs Fordham, said he was reaching the end of his supply of Avastin. He had been using the drug for two months and had already treated more than 30 patients.

"We're in limbo and don't know what to do with our patients," he said. "Either the price of Lucentis should come down significantly or we should be allowed to prescribe Avastin."

Both drugs are available only privately, but Avastin costs about $200 a shot, while Lucentis injections cost $2000 each. After a patient has bought three Lucentis injections, Roche will provide them free.

Mr Hall, who was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa during his teens, was prescribed the drug Acetazolamide, which dried up the excess water in his eyes and enabled him to see.

His mother, Patricia Hall, said it was a dream come true for her son.

"He was able to see a vision of Carolyn in her gown," she said. "It was not as clear as you or I might see, but he said she looked absolutely beautiful and the memory will stay with him."

Mrs Hall said her son could not take the drug continuously because of the severe side-effects it produces.

"It can't be taken for long, because it affects the nerves, gives you pins and needles and tics in your muscles," she said.

With his mind still full of thoughts about his wedding, Andrew hit on a bright idea. "We'd found it hard to find all the finishing touches," he says. "I thought there must be a market out there for all the accessories - not just for weddings, but for all kinds of events."

And so Hall Occasions, the business Andrew now runs with younger brother Chris, was born.

Launched last month, Hall Occasions is a web-based business which the brothers run from their home. It offers everything from party invitations to tableware and decorations to order, at www.halloccasions.co.uk.

Roche Australia said yesterday it would stop supplying Avastin to pharmacies that repackage it for the treatment of wet macular degeneration, a common age-related cause of legal blindness.

"Patients will go blind, there's no doubt about it," said retinal specialist Dr Wilson Heriot, the Victorian chairman of the Macular Degeneration Foundation. "That sounds emotive, but it is absolutely real."

Roche is accused of restricting access to Avastin to force patients onto Lucentis, which at $6000 is 10 times more expensive. The two drugs work exactly the same way but Lucentis is a smaller molecule and has been clinically tested for use in eyes. Avastin has been widely used but not formally tested.

Lucentis is distributed in Australia by Novartis but belongs to Genentech, an American biotechnology company majority owned by Roche. Genentech loses profit with every patient treated with Avastin.

The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish such as salmon are already known to help the heart and brain stay healthy. The new studies, appearing Monday in the Archives of Ophthalmology, add to evidence that fish eaters also protect their eyes.

The new studies aren't the strongest level of scientific evidence, but they confirm the findings of previous studies that also link fish consumption with prevention of macular degeneration.

A study of 681 elderly American men showed that those who ate fish twice a week had a 36 percent lower risk of macular degeneration. In the other study, which followed 2,335 Australian men and women over five years, people who ate fish just once a week reduced their risk by 40 percent.

The U.S. study also found that smokers nearly doubled their risk of the eye condition compared with people who never smoked.

Dr Mathieson, said: "Around 500 pixels would allow people to walk down the street and recognise faces.

"Beyond where we are today it might be possible to make smart chips which have memory in them which would allow action replay and slow motion."

Dr Mathieson, from the University of Glasgow's department of physics, is working on the project with Dr James D Morrison from the neuroscience and biomedical systems department.

The amber lens is for fast-moving ball sports, such as tennis, baseball, football or soccer. Grey-green is better for blocking glare for runners or helping a golfer read the contour of the ground.

The Commonwealth, through the National Health and Medical Research Council and the National Stem Cell Centre, is a key investor in stem cell research. Current laws allow some embryonic stem cell research, but ban the therapeutic cloning techniques under contemplation by Victoria. Therapeutic cloning allows embryos to be created for the purpose of harvesting stem cells. The technique is supported by many Australian scientists and patient groups, but opposed by churches and pro-life groups.

Former Federal Court judge John Lockhart recommended Australia go down that path in a landmark review presented to Canberra last year.

Cabinet has decided in principle to shelve the Lockhart recommendations, but the Prime Minister promised MPs a full party room debate in August before a final decision was made.

"The Committee has concluded that, based on its wide consultations, there is a need for an augmentation of the current system to allow research, within a rigorous ethical framework, into emerging scientific practices that will assist in the understanding of disease and disability," Mr Lockhart said.

• The National Health & Medical Research Centre - Human embryos & cloning information


• The Lockhart Review of Australia's Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2002 and the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002.


• National Stem Cell Centre


• Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories (MISCL)


• 'Support grows for stem cell research: survey' at ABC Science Online, 30 June 2006.

"It made me feel more self-confident and made me feel that there was something more out there," Lyles said. "It's a chance to forget that you're blind.

"To actually throw down your cane and run as fast as you can, it's a great feeling."

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) for the treatment of patients with neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Lucentis is the first treatment which, when dosed monthly, can maintain the vision of more than 90 percent of patients with this type of AMD. Lucentis is a new molecular entity (NME), meaning it contains an active substance that has never before been approved for marketing in any form in the United States.