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Posted on May.07, 2012, under Innovations for Visually Impaired
Did you know that our eyes have internal “sunglasses?” Known as the macular pigment (MP), this yellow pigmented spot is found in the center of the retina known as the macula. Made up of two carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, the MP plays a critical role in protecting the macula from harmful blue light and in helping to maintain the function of the macula.
Macular PIgment Optical Density
The thickness or the density of the MP varies from person to person. The density can also change over time depending on several factors such as aging and lifestyle and dietary choices. There has been several clinical trials and studies that have focused on measuring the MP and have researched how the thickness of it correlates to one’s risk of developing age related macular degeneration (AMD). The research has shown that a low macular pigment optical density (MPOD) is a key risk factor for AMD while a high macular pigment optical density not only reduces one’s risk for AMD but also helps to improve visual performance. Vision changes such as better contrast sensitivity, better acuity and reduced glare are just some of the benefits to a high MPOD.
Measuring Macular Pigment Density
How does one know the thickness of their MP? Several different instruments were used in different clinical trials . But now there is a scientifically proven instrument that measures Macular Pigment Optical Density that is available to those who are not in a research study. It is called QuantifEye. According to the company’s description, it uses “ heterochromatic flicker photometry technology that provides accurate and reproducible results.” This simple, non-invasive exam is done in the eye doctor’s office.
Monitoring Macular Pigment Density
The values or score that is used for MPOD ranges from 0 to 1. A low MPOD is in the range of 0 to .21, mid range is .21 to .44 and high range is .45 to 1.0. According to ZeaVsion the company that makes the QuantifEye instrument, the average MPOD in the United States is .35.
Measuring the density of the macular pigment provides important information, but even more important is what does one do if test results show a low MPOD score? Find out more about this macular degeneration test, who should have it, where to get tested, and what to do if you test low for MPOD:
Macular Pigment Density – Measuring, Managing, and Monitoring
Leslie Degner, RN, BSN
Better Health for Better Vision
www.WebRN-MacularDegeneration.com
Posted on May.07, 2012, under Innovations for Visually Impaired
Macular degeneration and stem cell research is in its infancy – as is most stem cell research. However, there has been some progress to report in humans . And even though the progress is quite small, it is still ground breaking.
A bio-tech company called Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) has its principal laboratory and GMP facility in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and its corporate headquarters in Santa Monica, California. The company specializes in cellular therapy for specific health conditions such as macular degeneration and Stargardt’s disease.
What makes this company unique in the area of stem cell research and treatment is that they have discovered and developed a “first-ever proven alternative method for successful hESC generation without harm to the embryo, called the “single-cell blastomere” technique, on which it holds broad intellectual property (IP) protection.”
Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells (RPE)
The RPE layer is one of the layers of the retina that sits right next to the photoreceptor cells which are critical for our vision. A healthy RPE is critical to the function and health of photoreceptor cells and to the retina as a whole. If the RPE loses some of it’s function the result is photoreceptor loss or degeneration which leads to loss of central vision. The progression of macular diseases such as dry macular degeneration to wet macular degeneration may also be the result of the RPE layer becoming less functional.
Macular Degeneration Stem Cell Research
What cells will be transplanted and what procedure will be used to transplant the cells? Based on the importance of the RPE to macular health, the first stem cell transplant for macular diseases will use hESC-derived RPE cells. The cells will be given as a subretinal injection into a pre-selected are of the macula.
On July 12, 2011 the first patients in the dry macular degeneration and Stargardt’s disease clinical trial were treated by Dr. Steven Schwartz, M.D at Jules Stein Eye Institute (UCLA). All clinical trials in humans start out as Phase I trials. A Phase I trial has one main purpose – it is to determine safety. The number of participants in this phase is always very small. Only 12 people will be recruited for each study. However, the trial will proceed very slowly with only 1-3 participants initially then followed by a thorough review several weeks later before proceeding with another patient or procedure.
If the transplant proves safe, the next step is to go to a Phase II trial to start looking at efficacy or effectiveness in vision improvement. According to ACT if RPE cell therapy proves effective it may impact over 200 retinal diseases.
To read more about this groundbreaking research with updates on patients and new clinical trial sites go to:
Macular Degeneration Stem Cell Research
Leslie Degner, RN, BSN
Posted on Oct.31, 2011, under Innovations for Visually Impaired
I often get many e-mails when some type of macular degeneration research is in the news. Patients and loved one are wanting to know when, where and how they can get this “latest treatment.” Unfortunately just because some research is in the news, doesn’t mean that the new treatment is even close to being available to the public. In fact it may be just a glimmer of hope that was discovered in a lab or in animals that has not yet even been tried in humans.
Take for example the stem cell study being done for dry age related macular degeneration. It was announced on January 3, 2011 that the FDA approved the application from Advanced Cell Technology to treat dry AMD using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells. Even though the study sites had not yet been determined, many people were anxious to find out how they could participate in the study.
Clinical Trial Stages
There is a process or stages that all clinical trials follow. They begin as a Phase I, and then if the initial reports are positive they move to a Phase II, and then to a Phase III and again if positive results are still seen they move to a Phase IV. Any study can be discontinued during any of these phases if the researchers find that the treatment is not safe or effective. So each study that is listed at the National Institute website (www.clinicaltrials.gov) will list what phase the study is in.
Clinical Trial Number of Participants
The number of participants allowed into the study is determined prior to the start of the study. Once the pre-determined numbers are reached no other participants are allowed to be in the research study. Phase I clinical trials will recruit only a small number (10 – 80) because this phase is determining the safety of the treatment. Phase II trials allow a larger group of people, typically in the 100 – 300 range to see if the new treatment is effective. In a Phase III the study will seek to confirm the effectiveness of the new treatment, monitor it for side effects and compare it to standard treatment.
Clinical Trial Criteria
All clinical trials list criteria that makes a patient eligible for a study and criteria that makes a patient ineligible. For instance in the Complement Inhibition With Eculizumab for the Treatment of Non-Exudative Macular Degeneration (AMD) (COMPLETE) study patients must be 50 years old or older with a diagnosis of non-exudative (dry) macular degeneration. Criteria that would make a patient ineligible for this study would be a diagnosis of wet macualr degeneration. No exceptions can be made or study results would be flawed. Perhaps with a better understanding now of how clinical trials work, you may want to find out more specifics on what is happening with macular degeneration research:
Leslie Degner, RN, BSN
Better Health for Better Vision
Posted on Aug.13, 2010, under Innovations for Visually Impaired
Blind Community Fine-tunes Avast! Antivirus Software
for Screen-reader Capability
PRAGUE, Czech Republic, August 12, 2010 – AVAST Software, providers of the avast! antivirus program, has announced that the latest update to its antivirus application makes computer security fully accessible to the vision-impaired. Using basic screen-reader technology, blind and low-vision computer users can now protect their computers from malware and unwanted viruses with any of the avast! Antivirus 5.0 offerings – avast! Free Antivirus, avast! Pro Antivirus and avast! Internet Security.
The push for this development came from vision-impaired IT geeks who wanted to use avast! Antivirus 5.0. “For the blind, the computer is an absolutely fantastic invention. And for some, it’s even their hobby to adjust it,” said Radek Seifert, work-team leader at the TEREZA Center, a support center for the sight-impaired at the Czech Technical University in Prague.
These volunteers fine-tuned avast! so it worked with JAWS®, a leading screen-reader technology. “They said, ‘give us the beta’ so we did,” remembers Ondrej Vlcek, AVAST Chief Technical Officer. “It was also a complicated issue on our side as avast! does not use the standard Windows controls.”
Screen reader software is designed to navigate through a website and read the web content aloud. A screen reader uses a Text-To-Speech (TTS) engine to translate on-screen information into speech, which can then be heard through earphones or speakers. In addition to speech feedback, screen readers are also capable of providing information in Braille. An external hardware device, known as a refreshable Braille display, is needed for this.
“A screen reader can be complicated to adjust – there are many ways to fine-tune the program and some very small differences made in adjusting the information that needs to be read aloud,” explained Mr. Seifert.
The cooperation between the blind community and AVAST Software is being noticed globally. “It’s great to see that a company like yours doesn’t take very long to make their programs accessible to blind or visually impaired users. I am happy to say that avast! 5.0 does now work fully with Jaws,” wrote in Michael Osmond, a blind JAWS trainer at Dalhousie University in Haifax, Canada. An avast! user since 2008, he was particularly concerned that the email filter in 5.0 would work correctly.
The computer, and screenreader technologies, is now an integral part of blind people’s lives. “The JAWS program is so much more than a simple screen reader – it is a navigational aid,” said Eric Damery, VP Software Product Management, Freedom Scientific. “We believe this technology truly empowers the vision-impaired and the newest antivirus program from avast! will provide peace of mind for computer users.”
ABOUT AVAST
AVAST Software protects over 100 million registered users in over 240 countries with its avast! antivirus program. avast! Free Antivirus sets the standard as a free, full-featured computer security application that matches or exceeds the performance of other paid products. The avast! 5.0 portfolio includes Free Antivirus, Pro Antivirus for customized protection, and the premium Internet Security with its no-hassle Silent Firewall. Anchored by the CommunityIQ network of sensors for reporting on-line threats and supported by multiple protective shields, avast! performance has been certified by VB100, ICSA Labs, and West Coast Labs. Available in around 30 languages, avast! provides global protection for homes and businesses that speaks your language. Be free with avast!
Original post can be found at: http://www.prlog.org/10854779-computer-protection-available-for-the-vision-impaired.html
Posted on Aug.13, 2010, under Innovations for Visually Impaired
If you live long enough, you will probably develop one. Six out of 10 people over age 60, and almost everyone over age 80 has one. Has what? A cataract. Despite this prevalence, most people don’t know the facts about cataracts until they’re “eye-to-eye” with one. Now is the time to educate yourself about the condition and breakthroughs in treatment. (continue reading…)
Posted on Jul.14, 2010, under Innovations for Visually Impaired
By Denise DeWitt
A new product just approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is offering new hope to elderly patients with end-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The implantable, miniature telescope is considered breakthrough technology to help offset the effects of AMD, which results in functional vision loss and is the leading cause of blindness in older Americans.
Posted on Jun.07, 2010, under Innovations for Visually Impaired
As reported by Medical News Today, UC Irvine scientists have created an eight-layer, early stage retina from human embryonic stem cells, the first three-dimensional tissue structure to be made from stem cells. It also marks the first step toward the development of transplant-ready retinas to treat eye disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration that affect millions.
Posted on Oct.14, 2009, under Educational, Innovations for Visually Impaired, Inspirational Stories
MIAMI (AFP) – A 60-year-old US grandmother, blind for nearly a decade, has recovered her sight after surgeons implanted a tooth in her eye as a base to hold a tiny plastic lens, her doctors said Wednesday. (continue reading…)
Posted on Sep.22, 2009, under Innovations for Visually Impaired
Bristol/Hong Kong-based Ocean Blue Software, a specialist digital TV software house, has developed “talking” digital TV technology for set top boxes and televisions that could potentially benefit millions of people who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, severely dyslexic, and elderly.
Posted on Sep.08, 2009, under Educational, Innovations for Visually Impaired
For people who are blind or visually impaired, orientation in unknown environments is a special challenge. A navigation system, however, can help to support orientation skills. Researchers at the University of Stuttgart are drawing information together for blind and visually impaired students that can be accessed with a precise mobile navigation device. (continue reading…)
