Acucela has the ambitious goal of fundamentally changing the way doctors treat the so-called “dry” form of age-related macular degeneration, which damages the eyesight of an estimated 29 million elderly people worldwide. The company was spun out of the University of Washington in 2002 by Ryo Kubota, an ophthalmologist on the faculty at the time. His dream is to create a once-daily oral pill that can slow down the progressive vision loss that comes with the dry form of macular degeneration, and ultimately to keep these aging patients from going blind.
The company got a big lift in September 2008 when it struck a partnership with Japan-based Otsuka Pharmaceutical to co-develop its lead drug candidate, and this month it took another big step by entering the first clinical trial that will assess what kind of effect its drug will have on the eyesight of between 50 to 100 elderly patients.
“We want to build a great company, and we want to build it to last. Our investors and our partner believes in it,” Kubota says.
Since Acucela doesn’t usually make a lot of news, some background is certainly in order. Acucela is vying to develop the first effective therapy for the dry form of age-related macular degeneration. It’s caused by yellowish buildups and a loss of pigment in the retina as people age. There is no approved treatment for this disease, unlike the “wet” form of age-related macular degeneration, which can be treated with Roche’s bevacizumab (Avastin) and ranibizumab (Lucentis), which cut off blood flow to leaky vessels behind the eye. The dry form of the disease is generally milder, but the market opportunity is thought to be huge, because as populations around the world age, it is expected to double in incidence over the next two decades.
Acucela’s idea comes in the form of a once-daily pill it calls ACU-4429. The drug is designed to block an enzyme called isomerase. By blocking that enzyme, Acucela hopes to slow down the visual cycle in which Vitamin A is constantly replenished. While people need a constant source of Vitamin A to see, a fast visual cycle can also contribute to the buildup of toxic Vitamin A byproducts in the eye, particularly one called A2E.
Back in May, Acucela presented the first evidence from a clinical trial that said its drug was on track. The initial trial enrolled 36 healthy volunteers at an escalating series of doses, and basically concluded that the drug was safe and well-tolerated.
This month, Acucela is attempting to pass a tougher test. The company started enrolling elderly people with severe cases of the dry form of macular degeneration. The trial, called Envision, will randomly assign patients to get the drug, or a placebo, at a variety of once-daily doses. Patients will be followed up for three months, and researchers will look at how well they can read letters on the eye chart, and a secondary goal that will assess whether the drug is working as intended, by reducing the amount of toxic byproduct buildup in the eye. It’s possible that the trial, as long as it appears safe at escalating doses, could enroll as many as 100 patients, Kubota says. It’s expected to take about one year to complete enrollment, and results should be available by mid-2011, he says.
Although Acucela is entering uncharted territory with a new way of treating this disease, it has competition from Tampa, FL-based Sirion Therapeutics. The competing drug is an oral pill like Acucela’s, made to circulate through the bloodstream, although it is designed to hit a different target than Acucela’s, Kubota says.
While Acucela awaits results from its mid-stage clinical trial, it is working to build up a lot of organizational strength this year, Kubota says. People with expertise in clinical development, preclinical development, and regulatory affairs are being recruited this year. By the end of 2010, Acucela expects to have hired about 60 new people, bringing its staff to about 100, he says. The company hopes to have that organizational horsepower in place by the time it expects to enter the final phase of clinical trials with ACU-4429, for an even more rigorous study that will assess patients’ vision for 18 to 24 months, Kubota says.
Although it’s rare among biotech companies without marketed products, Acucela has been able to operate on a cash-flow positive basis of late, Kubota says. That’s because Otsuka is paying for the company’s R&D expenses, while Acucela has received undisclosed milestone payments for getting this far in development, Kubota says.
“We’re going to be running big clinical trials,” Kubota says. “We think we can change the disease paradigm. Our goal is to cure blindness. It’s a huge ambition.”
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Friday, January 22, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Injections, supplements can help limit age-related macular degeneration
Three years ago, Catherine Leisher began noticing words were blurred when she read the newspaper. A trip to the eye doctor yielded diagnosis of a condition she had never heard of: age-related macular degeneration.
“I can see to walk, I can look out the window, and I can write,” said the 83-year-old Swatara Twp. resident who has the disease in both eyes. “But I can’t read — it’s all blurred, and I just loved to read.”
Age-related macular degeneration, which affects some 15 million Americans, leads to damage of the macula, which is the central part of the retina responsible for central vision and controls the ability to read, drive and recognize people’s faces in detail.
“It’s a major public health issue,” said Dr. Ingrid Scott, professor of ophthalmology and public health sciences at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. “Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision impairment and blindness in people over the age of 50 in the United States and the industrialized world.”
The incidence is expected to increase as baby boomers age, said Dr. Erik Chotiner, an ophthalmologist with Memorial Eye Institute in Lower Paxton Twp. “Statistics say that 1.75 million people have advanced AMD now, but that number is expected to rise to 2.95 million by 2025,” he said.
There are two types of the disease, dry and wet, which both can distort vision. Dry macular degeneration, the most common form, usually progresses gradually. The wet form, which occurs when abnormal or leaking blood vessels grow underneath the retina in the area of the macula, can lead to more rapid loss of central vision.
At first, Leisher, who suffers from the wet form, was frightened that she would eventually become blind. However, new drugs injected directly into the eye offer hope to people who suffer from the wet form of AMD.
The drugs, available since 2004, are called anti-VEGF, which stands for “vascular endothelial growth factor” — a family of proteins shown to be important in causing the growth of abnormal blood vessels that characterizes wet macular degeneration.
“Before these drugs, treatment was more primitive and really only helped stabilize, not improve, vision,” Chotiner said.
The anti-VEGF medications, which are injected into the back of the eye with a small needle, work by decreasing the growth of abnormal, leaky blood vessels.
“It can be uncomfortable, but I’ve never had a patient who wasn’t able to tolerate it,” said Scott, who administers a numbing medication to the eye before giving the shot. “With anti-VEGF drugs, 40 percent of patients have visual improvement, and 95 percent have stabilization of vision.”
“My vision is brighter,” said Leisher, who receives her injections at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. “A lot of people I know won’t take the shots because they are afraid of the needle. I hesitated at first, but I think I’d be much worse off if I didn’t do it.”
Another option, called photodynamic therapy, involves injecting a photosensitive drug into a vein in the arm. The dye travels to the blood vessels in the eye and localizes preferentially to the abnormal blood vessels. A cold laser beam is shown into the eye and temporarily reduces blood flow to the abnormal blood vessels. This therapy can slow the rate of vision loss but is much less likely to improve vision like the anti-VEGF medications can, Scott said.
Randee Erb, a 62-year-old New Holland resident diagnosed with wet macular degeneration last spring, has had four anti-VEGF injections and is noticing that her blurred vision is better.
“I dread getting the shots,” said Erb, who has to take the day off work when she gets the injections because they make her eye burn. “But they give me hope that I will be able to see clearly again.”
Every day Erb tests her eyesight by looking at an Amsler grid, a chart of vertical and horizontal lines, which she has taped to her refrigerator. The grid helps patients gauge whether their vision is worsening and they should see their doctor, based on how clear and straight the lines appear. As in Erb’s case the daily exercise can also bring good news. “At first it was all gray; now I’m slowly seeing lines,” she said.
Some patients with AMD might benefit from taking vitamin supplements that can reduce the risk of severe vision loss due to the disease by 25 percent and/or reduce the risk of developing wet AMD by 25 percent, Scott said. Called the AREDS formulation, it includes vitamins A, C, E, zinc and copper.
There are preventative measures that people can take to decrease their chances of developing AMD, doctors said. These include wearing sunglasses, not smoking, cutting down on saturated fats and eating dark green, leafy and orange vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, carrots and sweet potatoes.
“It’s extremely important to have regular eye exams,” Scott said. “People have often just accepted a decline in vision as part of aging when, in fact, many causes of declining vision can be treated. For example, it’s been shown in clinical trial after clinical trial among patients with wet AMD that the leading predictive factor for a patient’s visual outcome is how early they are diagnosed and treated.”
For more information go to WWW.MACULARDEGENERATIONASSOCIATION.ORG
“I can see to walk, I can look out the window, and I can write,” said the 83-year-old Swatara Twp. resident who has the disease in both eyes. “But I can’t read — it’s all blurred, and I just loved to read.”
Age-related macular degeneration, which affects some 15 million Americans, leads to damage of the macula, which is the central part of the retina responsible for central vision and controls the ability to read, drive and recognize people’s faces in detail.
“It’s a major public health issue,” said Dr. Ingrid Scott, professor of ophthalmology and public health sciences at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. “Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision impairment and blindness in people over the age of 50 in the United States and the industrialized world.”
The incidence is expected to increase as baby boomers age, said Dr. Erik Chotiner, an ophthalmologist with Memorial Eye Institute in Lower Paxton Twp. “Statistics say that 1.75 million people have advanced AMD now, but that number is expected to rise to 2.95 million by 2025,” he said.
There are two types of the disease, dry and wet, which both can distort vision. Dry macular degeneration, the most common form, usually progresses gradually. The wet form, which occurs when abnormal or leaking blood vessels grow underneath the retina in the area of the macula, can lead to more rapid loss of central vision.
At first, Leisher, who suffers from the wet form, was frightened that she would eventually become blind. However, new drugs injected directly into the eye offer hope to people who suffer from the wet form of AMD.
The drugs, available since 2004, are called anti-VEGF, which stands for “vascular endothelial growth factor” — a family of proteins shown to be important in causing the growth of abnormal blood vessels that characterizes wet macular degeneration.
“Before these drugs, treatment was more primitive and really only helped stabilize, not improve, vision,” Chotiner said.
The anti-VEGF medications, which are injected into the back of the eye with a small needle, work by decreasing the growth of abnormal, leaky blood vessels.
“It can be uncomfortable, but I’ve never had a patient who wasn’t able to tolerate it,” said Scott, who administers a numbing medication to the eye before giving the shot. “With anti-VEGF drugs, 40 percent of patients have visual improvement, and 95 percent have stabilization of vision.”
“My vision is brighter,” said Leisher, who receives her injections at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. “A lot of people I know won’t take the shots because they are afraid of the needle. I hesitated at first, but I think I’d be much worse off if I didn’t do it.”
Another option, called photodynamic therapy, involves injecting a photosensitive drug into a vein in the arm. The dye travels to the blood vessels in the eye and localizes preferentially to the abnormal blood vessels. A cold laser beam is shown into the eye and temporarily reduces blood flow to the abnormal blood vessels. This therapy can slow the rate of vision loss but is much less likely to improve vision like the anti-VEGF medications can, Scott said.
Randee Erb, a 62-year-old New Holland resident diagnosed with wet macular degeneration last spring, has had four anti-VEGF injections and is noticing that her blurred vision is better.
“I dread getting the shots,” said Erb, who has to take the day off work when she gets the injections because they make her eye burn. “But they give me hope that I will be able to see clearly again.”
Every day Erb tests her eyesight by looking at an Amsler grid, a chart of vertical and horizontal lines, which she has taped to her refrigerator. The grid helps patients gauge whether their vision is worsening and they should see their doctor, based on how clear and straight the lines appear. As in Erb’s case the daily exercise can also bring good news. “At first it was all gray; now I’m slowly seeing lines,” she said.
Some patients with AMD might benefit from taking vitamin supplements that can reduce the risk of severe vision loss due to the disease by 25 percent and/or reduce the risk of developing wet AMD by 25 percent, Scott said. Called the AREDS formulation, it includes vitamins A, C, E, zinc and copper.
There are preventative measures that people can take to decrease their chances of developing AMD, doctors said. These include wearing sunglasses, not smoking, cutting down on saturated fats and eating dark green, leafy and orange vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, carrots and sweet potatoes.
“It’s extremely important to have regular eye exams,” Scott said. “People have often just accepted a decline in vision as part of aging when, in fact, many causes of declining vision can be treated. For example, it’s been shown in clinical trial after clinical trial among patients with wet AMD that the leading predictive factor for a patient’s visual outcome is how early they are diagnosed and treated.”
For more information go to WWW.MACULARDEGENERATIONASSOCIATION.ORG
Monday, January 4, 2010
Smoking Increases Risk Of Age-Related Macular Degeneration
According to a new study, it is not a good idea for older people to continue to smoke, as smoking is the second most common risk factor for developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
AMD is a disease that progressively damages the macula i. e. the centre of the retina that makes it possible for us see fine details. Degeneration of the macula prevents people from being able to read, recognise faces or drive, due to experiencing darkness or blurring of their central vision.
What this means is that it is never too late to quit smoking, as even the eyes of the elderly benefit from kicking the habit.
The new study trying to determine whether age influences the effects of smoking on the risk of developing AMD, followed a group of 1,958-women of whom 75 smoked. These women 78-years of age at the start of the baseline exam underwent retinal photographs at five year intervals.
Their retinal images were compared at ages 78 and 83 to see whether AMD had made an appearance, including evaluating whether smoking played a role in their likelihood of developing the disease.
Researchers found that the women who smoked had 11% higher rates of AMD overall, than other women of the same age. As well, they found that 80-plus women who smoked were 5.5-times more likely than the same age women who did not smoke to develop AMD.
The bottom line is that aging increases the risk of AMD, but smoking raises the risk even more.
The study’s findings have been published in the January edition of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
AMD is a disease that progressively damages the macula i. e. the centre of the retina that makes it possible for us see fine details. Degeneration of the macula prevents people from being able to read, recognise faces or drive, due to experiencing darkness or blurring of their central vision.
What this means is that it is never too late to quit smoking, as even the eyes of the elderly benefit from kicking the habit.
The new study trying to determine whether age influences the effects of smoking on the risk of developing AMD, followed a group of 1,958-women of whom 75 smoked. These women 78-years of age at the start of the baseline exam underwent retinal photographs at five year intervals.
Their retinal images were compared at ages 78 and 83 to see whether AMD had made an appearance, including evaluating whether smoking played a role in their likelihood of developing the disease.
Researchers found that the women who smoked had 11% higher rates of AMD overall, than other women of the same age. As well, they found that 80-plus women who smoked were 5.5-times more likely than the same age women who did not smoke to develop AMD.
The bottom line is that aging increases the risk of AMD, but smoking raises the risk even more.
The study’s findings have been published in the January edition of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Monday, December 14, 2009
New Macula Eye Disease Discovered
University of Lowa’s scientists have come out with a finding about a new inherited eye disease that affects a part of the retina called the macula. Macula is the part of retina that forms the high-resolution central vision area.
Macula gets damaged in retinal conditions like macular degeneration and can even suffer in case if the person is a patient of diabetes. Macula plays an integral role especially while reading and driving. The new inherited disease came into the attention of the scientists after a person from United States approached a doctor for eye problem. The finding of the disease is expected to increase the comprehension of other common retinal diseases.
Study's lead author Vinit Mahajan, MD, Ph.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Iowa Roy J and Lucille A Carver College of Medicine said, "It is rare to find a new inherited eye disease that affects the macula. We thought we had seen them all." He added, "This newly found retinal disease causes abnormal blood vessels in the macula, and these vessels are prone to bleeding. This causes swelling or scars that ''black out'' or blur parts of the field of vision."
"If a doctor saw just one family member, they would probably call this macular degeneration. We knew there was something different, and we had to examine the rest of the family," Mahajan said.
The whole team of scientists evaluated 20 extended family members who had some or other problem with their eyes. Some were reported with central vision loss while others suffered from strabismus which is a condition of where eyes are not aligned. The findings have been reported in the November 9 issue of the Archives of ophthalmology.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Macula gets damaged in retinal conditions like macular degeneration and can even suffer in case if the person is a patient of diabetes. Macula plays an integral role especially while reading and driving. The new inherited disease came into the attention of the scientists after a person from United States approached a doctor for eye problem. The finding of the disease is expected to increase the comprehension of other common retinal diseases.
Study's lead author Vinit Mahajan, MD, Ph.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Iowa Roy J and Lucille A Carver College of Medicine said, "It is rare to find a new inherited eye disease that affects the macula. We thought we had seen them all." He added, "This newly found retinal disease causes abnormal blood vessels in the macula, and these vessels are prone to bleeding. This causes swelling or scars that ''black out'' or blur parts of the field of vision."
"If a doctor saw just one family member, they would probably call this macular degeneration. We knew there was something different, and we had to examine the rest of the family," Mahajan said.
The whole team of scientists evaluated 20 extended family members who had some or other problem with their eyes. Some were reported with central vision loss while others suffered from strabismus which is a condition of where eyes are not aligned. The findings have been reported in the November 9 issue of the Archives of ophthalmology.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Thursday, December 3, 2009
First New Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Approved for U.S.
Thirteen embryonic stem-cell lines were approved for use by U.S.-funded researchers today, the first of hundreds of cell colonies that may become available under new polices promised by President Barack Obama.
Stem cells taken from days-old human embryos can be kept alive indefinitely in solution, and have the ability to turn into about 200 cell types in the body. Use of these so-called cell lines is opposed by some people because extracting them destroys the embryos. The stem-cell expansion was announced today by Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, in a telephone briefing with reporters.
Another 20 lines may be cleared as soon as Dec. 4, the first of “a wave” of approvals that could make hundreds available, Collins said. Obama pledged to end U.S. stem-cell restrictions during his presidential campaign. Congress twice voted to overturn the limits, put in place by President George W. Bush, and Bush vetoed both measures.
“With these restrictions now being lifted, we can now compete, hopefully, with the U.K. and some of the other foreign governments that are running with us,” said Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer of Worcester, Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell Technology Inc., in a telephone interview today. “It would be good for us to be back in the game.”
Advanced Cell gained 1 cent to reach 11 cents in over-the- counter trading at 4 p.m. New York time. The shares more than tripled this year. Geron, the Menlo Park, California company whose application to start the first human trial using embryonic stem cells is pending before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, rose 76 cents, or 14 percent, to $6.20 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The increase was the biggest single-day gain for the company in more than four months.
10,000 Shares
Redwood Partners, a New York-based investment firm, bought 10,000 shares of Geron at $5.70 off the news, said Lisa Duffee, a trader with the company, in a telephone interview today.
“These sorts of stocks get crazy when there’s news,” she said. “They react strongly to the upside or the downside and they’re not expensive. We may hold on to them for a few days to see how much noise it gets. If it really runs up, we could be out today.”
The newly approved lines were created by George Daley, a researcher at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Ali Brivanlou, a researcher at Rockefeller University in New York. They were made using private donations during the eight years that federal funding for stem-cell research was sharply restricted by the Bush administration.
‘Huge Relief’
“It’s been a long time coming and it’s a huge relief,” said Daley, whose research team at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute created 11 of the newly approved lines. “This is the first step toward widely expanded access to hundreds of lines that have been derived since the initial Bush policy of 2001.”
Collins said his agency has approved 31 grants totaling $21 million that have been held up until new cell lines were reviewed and approved. The scientists awarded the grants can now choose which approved cell lines to work with, he said.
“This is an opportunity to celebrate the science that can now go forward,” Collins said during the briefing. The announcement should end “what has clearly been a time of some frustration on the part of the research community.”
More embryonic stem-cell grant applications are under review by the NIH as part of the $10 billion provided to the agency in the $787 stimulus package passed by Congress in February, Collins said. Those grants are in the second stage of scrutiny at the agency and may lead to more than $10 million in additional awards, he said.
‘Rigorous’ Review
The NIH conducted a “rigorous” review to make sure the stem cells approved today were made from embryos that were freely donated by women who were not compensated or induced in any way to provide them, Collins said. Scientists had to submit evidence that donors were informed of all options on use of their embryos and provided written consent.
David Prentice, a senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council in Washington, described the new approvals as “unfortunate,” saying stem-cell research had yet to produce results.
“This money would be much better spent on adult stem cell research where we are seeing good results for a variety of diseases including stroke, spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis,” he said.
Eye Diseases
Advanced Cell Technology applied to U.S. regulators last month to start human trials on its embryonic stem-cell treatment for Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy, which causes untreatable blindness. The treatment resulted in 100 percent restoration of vision in rat studies with no serious side effects, Lanza said.
The stem-cell colony used in the studies, which wasn’t previously approved for federal research funding, is five to ten times as efficient at replacing lost photoreceptor cells as other lines, Lanza said.
The company plans to pursue the treatment for other forms of macular degeneration, which affects as many as 10 million people in the U.S., according to a company statement.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Stem cells taken from days-old human embryos can be kept alive indefinitely in solution, and have the ability to turn into about 200 cell types in the body. Use of these so-called cell lines is opposed by some people because extracting them destroys the embryos. The stem-cell expansion was announced today by Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, in a telephone briefing with reporters.
Another 20 lines may be cleared as soon as Dec. 4, the first of “a wave” of approvals that could make hundreds available, Collins said. Obama pledged to end U.S. stem-cell restrictions during his presidential campaign. Congress twice voted to overturn the limits, put in place by President George W. Bush, and Bush vetoed both measures.
“With these restrictions now being lifted, we can now compete, hopefully, with the U.K. and some of the other foreign governments that are running with us,” said Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer of Worcester, Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell Technology Inc., in a telephone interview today. “It would be good for us to be back in the game.”
Advanced Cell gained 1 cent to reach 11 cents in over-the- counter trading at 4 p.m. New York time. The shares more than tripled this year. Geron, the Menlo Park, California company whose application to start the first human trial using embryonic stem cells is pending before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, rose 76 cents, or 14 percent, to $6.20 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The increase was the biggest single-day gain for the company in more than four months.
10,000 Shares
Redwood Partners, a New York-based investment firm, bought 10,000 shares of Geron at $5.70 off the news, said Lisa Duffee, a trader with the company, in a telephone interview today.
“These sorts of stocks get crazy when there’s news,” she said. “They react strongly to the upside or the downside and they’re not expensive. We may hold on to them for a few days to see how much noise it gets. If it really runs up, we could be out today.”
The newly approved lines were created by George Daley, a researcher at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Ali Brivanlou, a researcher at Rockefeller University in New York. They were made using private donations during the eight years that federal funding for stem-cell research was sharply restricted by the Bush administration.
‘Huge Relief’
“It’s been a long time coming and it’s a huge relief,” said Daley, whose research team at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute created 11 of the newly approved lines. “This is the first step toward widely expanded access to hundreds of lines that have been derived since the initial Bush policy of 2001.”
Collins said his agency has approved 31 grants totaling $21 million that have been held up until new cell lines were reviewed and approved. The scientists awarded the grants can now choose which approved cell lines to work with, he said.
“This is an opportunity to celebrate the science that can now go forward,” Collins said during the briefing. The announcement should end “what has clearly been a time of some frustration on the part of the research community.”
More embryonic stem-cell grant applications are under review by the NIH as part of the $10 billion provided to the agency in the $787 stimulus package passed by Congress in February, Collins said. Those grants are in the second stage of scrutiny at the agency and may lead to more than $10 million in additional awards, he said.
‘Rigorous’ Review
The NIH conducted a “rigorous” review to make sure the stem cells approved today were made from embryos that were freely donated by women who were not compensated or induced in any way to provide them, Collins said. Scientists had to submit evidence that donors were informed of all options on use of their embryos and provided written consent.
David Prentice, a senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council in Washington, described the new approvals as “unfortunate,” saying stem-cell research had yet to produce results.
“This money would be much better spent on adult stem cell research where we are seeing good results for a variety of diseases including stroke, spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis,” he said.
Eye Diseases
Advanced Cell Technology applied to U.S. regulators last month to start human trials on its embryonic stem-cell treatment for Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy, which causes untreatable blindness. The treatment resulted in 100 percent restoration of vision in rat studies with no serious side effects, Lanza said.
The stem-cell colony used in the studies, which wasn’t previously approved for federal research funding, is five to ten times as efficient at replacing lost photoreceptor cells as other lines, Lanza said.
The company plans to pursue the treatment for other forms of macular degeneration, which affects as many as 10 million people in the U.S., according to a company statement.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Friday, November 27, 2009
Earlier Diagnosis Of Ocular Pathologies Such As Keratitis And Macular Degeneration
Carolina Herrera Ortiz
University of Granada
Researchers from the University of Granada have provided an early diagnosis of certain ocular diseases that are very common today, such as age-related macular degeneration and keratitis, by applying an existing optical technique that had never before been used for this purpose.
Scientists from the UGR have studied the image quality in subjects affected by one of these two pathologies, finding a greater amount of ocular aberrations and a higher level of scattering (term associated with the dispersion that light suffers when passing through the various ocular media) in affected eyes compared with results in healthy eyes. This significantly affects visual performance.
This work has been performed by the researcher Carolina Herrera Ortiz, from the Optics Department at the University of Granada, and directed by professors José Ramón Jiménez Cuesta and Francisco Pérez Ocón.
Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the leading cause of central vision loss in developed countries, and mainly affects people of over 50 years of age. As far as keratitis is concerned, this condition causes inflammation of the cornea and can cause blindness, due to the severe alterations that the corneal surface may suffer.
Optical instruments
To carry out this work, the scientists measured the image quality with two optical instruments and used a psychophysical test for assessing visual performance. Results from patients with ARMD were compared with those obtained from a control group of similar age without any ocular pathology. Thus, the researchers could verify that for individuals affected by this condition there is an increased level of ocular scattering that could be mainly due to the disruption suffered by the light reflected in the damaged retina of the ARMD eyes, because a priori optics are not expected to be altered, since it is a retinal pathology.
On the other hand, optical quality and visual performance have also been studied in patients affected by keratitis. Eyes affected by keratitis present a poorer optical quality and a reduced visual performance that improves significantly after the resolution of the pathology. Nevertheless, once medical treatment ends, eyes that suffered from keratitis still have a worse image quality compared to the contralateral healthy eye, a result that significantly influences visual performance even having reached the normal values of visual acuity.
Visual quality characterization
The results of this research carried out at the UGR will make a full and objective characterization of visual quality in patients affected by any of these ocular pathologies. So far, the use of new techniques for assessing objectively the optic quality of the eye has been limited to studies on refractive or cataract surgery. However, as Carolina Ortiz Herrera suggests, this work "may be of particular interest to establish an early diagnosis of certain ocular diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, the main cause of central vision loss in developed countries."
Furthermore, this technique allows researchers to carry out a monitoring of possible stages of both diseases. Ortiz Herrera stresses the importance of including "both in the clinical practice of optometry and ophthalmology" the use of new techniques that, objectively, could indicate deterioration in vision even when the visual acuity values are normal, since "vision is not only seeing well, but providing quality and comfort."
The results of this PhD research led to two publications in journals of international prestige such as Journal of Modern Optics, Cornea. and a future issue of Current Eye Research.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
University of Granada
Researchers from the University of Granada have provided an early diagnosis of certain ocular diseases that are very common today, such as age-related macular degeneration and keratitis, by applying an existing optical technique that had never before been used for this purpose.
Scientists from the UGR have studied the image quality in subjects affected by one of these two pathologies, finding a greater amount of ocular aberrations and a higher level of scattering (term associated with the dispersion that light suffers when passing through the various ocular media) in affected eyes compared with results in healthy eyes. This significantly affects visual performance.
This work has been performed by the researcher Carolina Herrera Ortiz, from the Optics Department at the University of Granada, and directed by professors José Ramón Jiménez Cuesta and Francisco Pérez Ocón.
Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the leading cause of central vision loss in developed countries, and mainly affects people of over 50 years of age. As far as keratitis is concerned, this condition causes inflammation of the cornea and can cause blindness, due to the severe alterations that the corneal surface may suffer.
Optical instruments
To carry out this work, the scientists measured the image quality with two optical instruments and used a psychophysical test for assessing visual performance. Results from patients with ARMD were compared with those obtained from a control group of similar age without any ocular pathology. Thus, the researchers could verify that for individuals affected by this condition there is an increased level of ocular scattering that could be mainly due to the disruption suffered by the light reflected in the damaged retina of the ARMD eyes, because a priori optics are not expected to be altered, since it is a retinal pathology.
On the other hand, optical quality and visual performance have also been studied in patients affected by keratitis. Eyes affected by keratitis present a poorer optical quality and a reduced visual performance that improves significantly after the resolution of the pathology. Nevertheless, once medical treatment ends, eyes that suffered from keratitis still have a worse image quality compared to the contralateral healthy eye, a result that significantly influences visual performance even having reached the normal values of visual acuity.
Visual quality characterization
The results of this research carried out at the UGR will make a full and objective characterization of visual quality in patients affected by any of these ocular pathologies. So far, the use of new techniques for assessing objectively the optic quality of the eye has been limited to studies on refractive or cataract surgery. However, as Carolina Ortiz Herrera suggests, this work "may be of particular interest to establish an early diagnosis of certain ocular diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, the main cause of central vision loss in developed countries."
Furthermore, this technique allows researchers to carry out a monitoring of possible stages of both diseases. Ortiz Herrera stresses the importance of including "both in the clinical practice of optometry and ophthalmology" the use of new techniques that, objectively, could indicate deterioration in vision even when the visual acuity values are normal, since "vision is not only seeing well, but providing quality and comfort."
The results of this PhD research led to two publications in journals of international prestige such as Journal of Modern Optics, Cornea. and a future issue of Current Eye Research.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Monday, November 16, 2009
Survey Shows That Americans Lack Significant Knowledge of Age-Related Vision Problems
Macular degeneration and glaucoma among the top areas Americans have the most misunderstanding according to the American Optometric Association
It's a fact of life that eyes change with age, and baby boomers - Americans born between 1946 and 1964 - are at the stage when many are affected by vision problems. Despite the prevalence of Americans affected by these changes, a new survey from the American Optometric Association (AOA) shows a concerning lack of public knowledge and misunderstanding regarding age-related eye diseases and conditions.
According to the AOA's American Eye-Q® survey, which assesses public knowledge and understanding of issues related to eye and visual health, only 18 percent of Americans know that macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in adults 65 years of age and older, and less than a quarter of all Americans understand the effects of glaucoma. Even more concerning, 89 percent of Americans incorrectly believe that glaucoma is preventable, when in fact it is only treatable if caught early.
Americans who are 40 years of age or older have probably noticed changes in vision. Difficulties seeing clearly for reading and close work are among the most common problems adults develop between the ages of 41 to 60. According to the Eye-Q® survey, top concerns about the effects of vision problems include not being able to live independently, cited by 45 percent; not being able to see loved ones, 21 percent; being unable to read, 20 percent and losing the ability to drive, 11 percent.
"When left undetected and untreated, many age-related eye diseases can damage your vision permanently," said Mark Wilkinson, O.D., Chair of the AOA's Vision Rehabilitation Section. "The good news is that most people can preserve their vision with proper treatment, so the key is early detection."
Age-related vision disorders baby boomers and seniors should be aware of include:
•Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) - an eye disease that causes loss of central vision. Activities like reading, driving, watching TV and recognizing faces all require clear central vision.
•Diabetic retinopathy - a condition occurring in people with diabetes, which causes progressive damage to the retina, the light-sensitive lining at the back of the eye. If left untreated, it can cause blindness.
•Cataracts - a cloudy or opaque area in the clear lens of the eye. Usually cataracts develop in both eyes, but one may be worse than the other. Cataracts can cause a decrease in contrast sensitivity, a dulling of colors and increased sensitivity to glare.
•Glaucoma - a group of eye diseases characterized by damage to the optic nerve resulting in peripheral vision loss. People at higher risk of developing glaucoma include those with a family history of the disease, older adults, African-Americans and Hispanics.
•Dry eye - a condition where there is an insufficient amount of tears or a poor quality of tears to lubricate and nourish the eye. Tears contribute to clear vision and the health of the front surface of the eye.
•Retinal detachment - tearing or separation of the retina from the underlying tissue. This can be caused by trauma to the eye or head, health problems due to advanced diabetes, and inflammatory disorders of the eye.
The good news is the majority of the American Eye-Q® survey respondents (92 percent) understand that visiting an eye doctor on a regular basis for comprehensive eye exams can help reduce the risk of developing age-related vision problems. The bad news is that respondents were less aware that avoiding smoking (40 percent) and eating a low-fat, low-salt diet (30 percent) can also reduce age-related vision problems.
"Some common warning signs of age-related vision problems include fluctuating vision, seeing floaters or flashes of light, loss of side vision and seeing distorted images," said Dr. Wilkinson. "However, often patients with eye diseases do not have recognizable symptoms until the conditions are quite advanced, so regular comprehensive eye exams are essential for baby boomers and seniors."
Addressing Age-Related Vision Problems
The American Eye-Q® survey also revealed that respondents age 55 and older are taking steps to address their age-related vision problems. Thirty three percent said they limit their night driving; 27 percent use brighter lights; 24 percent use wetting eye drops or artificial tears and 18 percent purchase or request items in large print.
Adding certain nutrients to one's diet every day - either through foods or supplements - can help preserve vision and prevent age-related eye diseases.
The AOA recommends the following eye-healthy nutrients and foods:
•Lutein and zeaxanthin: Colorful fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, kale, corn, green beans, peas, oranges and tangerines
•Essential fatty acids: Fatty fish like tuna, salmon, or herring; whole-grain foods; chicken and eggs
•Vitamin C: Fruits and vegetables, including oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, papaya, green peppers and tomatoes
•Vitamin E: Vegetable oils, such as safflower or corn oil; almonds and pecans; sweet potatoes and sunflower seeds
•Zinc: Extra-lean red meat, poultry, liver, shellfish, milk, baked beans and whole grains
Dealing with Vision Loss
Comprehensive eye exams are important for Americans of all ages, but become especially important later in life when more Americans develop age-related conditions and begin taking medications more frequently. The AOA recommends that adults over age 60 have a comprehensive eye examination by an optometrist once a year or more frequently if a doctor recommends it.
For patients with age-related vision loss, a specialized examination by an optometrist who treats vision impairment is a critical first step in the care process that focuses on maintaining and/or regaining independence and maximizing useful remaining vision. Prescribed treatment options commonly include specialized reading spectacles, spectacle-mounted telescopes, hand-held magnifiers and telescopes, therapeutic filters, specialized contact lenses, field enhancement treatments, and video magnification technology that both enlarge and enhance the contrast of reading materials.
There also are numerous other assistive products that can help with daily activities for people who have vision impairment, such as large-type books, magazines, and newspapers, books-on-tape, talking wristwatches, self-threading needles, and more. To learn more about vision rehabilitation and available treatment options, talk to an optometrist.
For additional information about aging eyes or to find a doctor of optometry in your area, please visit www.aoa.org.
About the survey:
The fourth annual American Eye-Q® survey was created and commissioned in conjunction with Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates (PSB). From May 21 - 24, 2009, using an online methodology, PSB interviewed 1,000 Americans 18 years and older who embodied a nationally representative sample of U.S. general population. (Margin of error at 95 percent confidence level.)
About the American Optometric Association (AOA):
The American Optometric Association represents approximately 36,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and paraoptometric assistants and technicians. Optometrists serve patients in nearly 6,500 communities across the country, and in 3,500 of those communities are the only eye doctors. Doctors of optometry provide two-thirds of all primary eye care in the United States.
American Optometric Association doctors of optometry are highly qualified, trained doctors on the frontline of eye and vision care who examine, diagnose, treat and manage diseases and disorders of the eye. In addition to providing eye and vision care, optometrists play a major role in a patient's overall health and well-being by detecting systemic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
Prior to optometry school, optometrists typically complete four years of undergraduate study, culminating in a bachelor's degree. Required undergraduate coursework for pre-optometry students is extensive and covers a wide variety of advanced health, science and mathematics. Optometry school consists of four years of post-graduate, doctoral study concentrating on both the eye and systemic health. In addition to their formal training, doctors of optometry must undergo annual continuing education to stay current on the latest standards of care.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
It's a fact of life that eyes change with age, and baby boomers - Americans born between 1946 and 1964 - are at the stage when many are affected by vision problems. Despite the prevalence of Americans affected by these changes, a new survey from the American Optometric Association (AOA) shows a concerning lack of public knowledge and misunderstanding regarding age-related eye diseases and conditions.
According to the AOA's American Eye-Q® survey, which assesses public knowledge and understanding of issues related to eye and visual health, only 18 percent of Americans know that macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in adults 65 years of age and older, and less than a quarter of all Americans understand the effects of glaucoma. Even more concerning, 89 percent of Americans incorrectly believe that glaucoma is preventable, when in fact it is only treatable if caught early.
Americans who are 40 years of age or older have probably noticed changes in vision. Difficulties seeing clearly for reading and close work are among the most common problems adults develop between the ages of 41 to 60. According to the Eye-Q® survey, top concerns about the effects of vision problems include not being able to live independently, cited by 45 percent; not being able to see loved ones, 21 percent; being unable to read, 20 percent and losing the ability to drive, 11 percent.
"When left undetected and untreated, many age-related eye diseases can damage your vision permanently," said Mark Wilkinson, O.D., Chair of the AOA's Vision Rehabilitation Section. "The good news is that most people can preserve their vision with proper treatment, so the key is early detection."
Age-related vision disorders baby boomers and seniors should be aware of include:
•Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) - an eye disease that causes loss of central vision. Activities like reading, driving, watching TV and recognizing faces all require clear central vision.
•Diabetic retinopathy - a condition occurring in people with diabetes, which causes progressive damage to the retina, the light-sensitive lining at the back of the eye. If left untreated, it can cause blindness.
•Cataracts - a cloudy or opaque area in the clear lens of the eye. Usually cataracts develop in both eyes, but one may be worse than the other. Cataracts can cause a decrease in contrast sensitivity, a dulling of colors and increased sensitivity to glare.
•Glaucoma - a group of eye diseases characterized by damage to the optic nerve resulting in peripheral vision loss. People at higher risk of developing glaucoma include those with a family history of the disease, older adults, African-Americans and Hispanics.
•Dry eye - a condition where there is an insufficient amount of tears or a poor quality of tears to lubricate and nourish the eye. Tears contribute to clear vision and the health of the front surface of the eye.
•Retinal detachment - tearing or separation of the retina from the underlying tissue. This can be caused by trauma to the eye or head, health problems due to advanced diabetes, and inflammatory disorders of the eye.
The good news is the majority of the American Eye-Q® survey respondents (92 percent) understand that visiting an eye doctor on a regular basis for comprehensive eye exams can help reduce the risk of developing age-related vision problems. The bad news is that respondents were less aware that avoiding smoking (40 percent) and eating a low-fat, low-salt diet (30 percent) can also reduce age-related vision problems.
"Some common warning signs of age-related vision problems include fluctuating vision, seeing floaters or flashes of light, loss of side vision and seeing distorted images," said Dr. Wilkinson. "However, often patients with eye diseases do not have recognizable symptoms until the conditions are quite advanced, so regular comprehensive eye exams are essential for baby boomers and seniors."
Addressing Age-Related Vision Problems
The American Eye-Q® survey also revealed that respondents age 55 and older are taking steps to address their age-related vision problems. Thirty three percent said they limit their night driving; 27 percent use brighter lights; 24 percent use wetting eye drops or artificial tears and 18 percent purchase or request items in large print.
Adding certain nutrients to one's diet every day - either through foods or supplements - can help preserve vision and prevent age-related eye diseases.
The AOA recommends the following eye-healthy nutrients and foods:
•Lutein and zeaxanthin: Colorful fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, kale, corn, green beans, peas, oranges and tangerines
•Essential fatty acids: Fatty fish like tuna, salmon, or herring; whole-grain foods; chicken and eggs
•Vitamin C: Fruits and vegetables, including oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, papaya, green peppers and tomatoes
•Vitamin E: Vegetable oils, such as safflower or corn oil; almonds and pecans; sweet potatoes and sunflower seeds
•Zinc: Extra-lean red meat, poultry, liver, shellfish, milk, baked beans and whole grains
Dealing with Vision Loss
Comprehensive eye exams are important for Americans of all ages, but become especially important later in life when more Americans develop age-related conditions and begin taking medications more frequently. The AOA recommends that adults over age 60 have a comprehensive eye examination by an optometrist once a year or more frequently if a doctor recommends it.
For patients with age-related vision loss, a specialized examination by an optometrist who treats vision impairment is a critical first step in the care process that focuses on maintaining and/or regaining independence and maximizing useful remaining vision. Prescribed treatment options commonly include specialized reading spectacles, spectacle-mounted telescopes, hand-held magnifiers and telescopes, therapeutic filters, specialized contact lenses, field enhancement treatments, and video magnification technology that both enlarge and enhance the contrast of reading materials.
There also are numerous other assistive products that can help with daily activities for people who have vision impairment, such as large-type books, magazines, and newspapers, books-on-tape, talking wristwatches, self-threading needles, and more. To learn more about vision rehabilitation and available treatment options, talk to an optometrist.
For additional information about aging eyes or to find a doctor of optometry in your area, please visit www.aoa.org.
About the survey:
The fourth annual American Eye-Q® survey was created and commissioned in conjunction with Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates (PSB). From May 21 - 24, 2009, using an online methodology, PSB interviewed 1,000 Americans 18 years and older who embodied a nationally representative sample of U.S. general population. (Margin of error at 95 percent confidence level.)
About the American Optometric Association (AOA):
The American Optometric Association represents approximately 36,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and paraoptometric assistants and technicians. Optometrists serve patients in nearly 6,500 communities across the country, and in 3,500 of those communities are the only eye doctors. Doctors of optometry provide two-thirds of all primary eye care in the United States.
American Optometric Association doctors of optometry are highly qualified, trained doctors on the frontline of eye and vision care who examine, diagnose, treat and manage diseases and disorders of the eye. In addition to providing eye and vision care, optometrists play a major role in a patient's overall health and well-being by detecting systemic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
Prior to optometry school, optometrists typically complete four years of undergraduate study, culminating in a bachelor's degree. Required undergraduate coursework for pre-optometry students is extensive and covers a wide variety of advanced health, science and mathematics. Optometry school consists of four years of post-graduate, doctoral study concentrating on both the eye and systemic health. In addition to their formal training, doctors of optometry must undergo annual continuing education to stay current on the latest standards of care.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
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