British surgeons have found a new method to heal patients with choroideremia, a genetic disease that can lead to blindness.

 

This disease, for which no remedy has existed until now, causes pigmentary deposits and a loss of photoreceptors. Young patients see less and less in low-light conditions, until they become blind by adulthood.

 

In an attempt to heal six young patients, the team of researchers led by Robert McLaren injected the patients with healthy copies of the CHM gene, which was defective in the patients, directly into the retina. The method saved the patients their vision. Despite having retinal detachment, two patients saw their vision improve considerably with regard to low-light vision, sharpness and colours.

 

The study findings were published in the scientific journal The Lancet. The researchers would like to use a similar method to heal other types of blindness.

Sources:

http://www.acuite.fr/articles.asp?REF=9322

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)62117-0/fulltext

 

Google is developing a “smart” contact lens, able to measure the glucose levels in the tears of patients with diabetes.

 

The prototype uses a tiny wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material. It is able to produce one reading per second and could incorporate miniature LED lights to warn the wearer when glucose levels are getting out of control.

 

“It’s still early days for this technology,” said Brian Otis and Babak Parviz, project co-founders. “But we’ve completed multiple clinical research studies which are helping to refine our prototype. We hope this could someday lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease.”

 

There is still a lot of work to be done before this technology is useable. “We’re not going to do this alone: we plan to look for partners who are experts in bringing products like this to market,” commented the researchers. “At a time when the International Diabetes Federation is declaring that the world is ‘losing the battle’ against diabetes, we thought this project was worth a shot.”

Source:

http://googleblog.blogspot.ca

 

 

The Regard Action eyecare professional services cooperative has released the names of the opticians and optometrists who will be finalists in its 2014 Excellence Awards contest.

 

These awards celebrate the passion, ambition, dynamism and community service of eyecare professionals. They were created to honour and recognize the talent of the network’s ECPs and emerging professionals.

 

In the Optician of the Year category, the finalists are:

 

• Richard Chamberland, Les yeux du coeur, Terrebonne;

• Robert Grimard, Grimard Optique, Montréal;
• Serge Poulin, Optique Serge Poulin, Québec.

 

In the Optometrist of the Year category, the finalists are:

 

• Dr. Benoit Bergeron, Optique Comeau, Campbellton;
• Dr. Marie-Josée Couture, Les Branchés Lunetterie, Montréal;
• Dr. Isabelle Parent, Optique Serge Poulin, Québec.

 

The seven finalists have been cordially invited to attend the cooperative’s Congress to be held on the occasion of Regard Action’s 25th anniversary, at the Hôtel La Ferme, in Charlevoix, in April 2014. The winners’ names will be announced at the Gala evening event on April 26.

Source: Regard Action

 

 

Researchers have joined forces to produce a special issue of the scientific journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS).

 

About 40 million people worldwide are blind or have significant visual impairment. Yet, 65% of those with visual impairment and 82% of those who are blind are over 50 years of age. Ophthalmic researchers collaborated to put together a series of scientific papers on the aging eye, to focus attention on the latest discoveries and accelerate the translation of those findings into clinical care.

 

“With an aging world population and a startling increase in the prevalence of diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, we feel that this issue is both important and timely, with chapters highlighting problems in and possible solutions to age-related diseases that affect all the major tissues of the eye,” said Dr. Gerald Chader, medical director of the Ocular Research Symposia Foundation. The special issue is based on workshops sponsored by the foundation that were held June 14–16, 2013.

 

These articles specifically address new research on the genetics, biology, biochemistry, neurochemistry and the impact of nutrition and the environment on functions in the older eye.

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140117191316.htm

 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first gel sealant for use in stopping fluid from leaking through the incision in a patient’s cornea after cataract surgery.

 

“The FDA has approved gels like ReSure for sealing small incisions in other parts of the body, such as the lungs, but this is a first-of-its-kind for the eye,” explains Christy Foreman, director of the FDA’s Office of Device Evaluation.

 

Usually, the incision made during cataract surgery is self-sealing. However, if fluid leaks from the incision, the surgeon may need to close the wound. The ReSure sealant, produced by Ocular Therapeutix, is made up of two liquid solutions that the surgeon mixes together just prior to sealing the incision. Using an applicator, the surgeon applies the mixture directly to the incision. After 20 seconds, a gel forms that adheres to the eye and seals the incision. The gel gradually breaks down over the course of seven days and is cleared from the body by the eye’s natural tears.

 

The study excluded people who had a history of eye trauma or surgeries, patients with insulin-dependent diabetes or glaucoma, and anyone who used certain medications in the weeks prior to cataract surgery.

Source:

www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/271103.php