Ultrasonic Bracelet Helps Blind People Navigate

Based on the resonance location system (echo) used by bats and dolphins to navigate, Marco Antonio Trujillo Tejeda and Cuauhtli Padilla Arias, mechatronic engineers from the Tec de Monterrey in Mexico, devised a bracelet that makes mobility simpler and safer for the blind.

Ocular treatment likely to become first Gene Therapy approved in US

(c) nature.com

Spark Therapeutics has announced positive results from the Phase 3 pivotal trial of its lead gene therapy product candidate, SPK-RPE65, for the treatment of RPE65-mediated inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs). These results represent the first successful randomized, controlled Phase 3 trial ever completed in gene therapy for a genetic disease.

AMD likely to be more in people with deficient vitamin D status

A multi-institutional team reports that vitamin D may play a significant role in eye health, specifically in the possible prevention of age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, among women who are more genetically prone to developing the sight-damaging disease.

In a paper published in JAMA Ophthalmology online, the team found that women who are deficient in vitamin D and have a specific high-risk genotype are 6.7 times more likely to develop AMD than women with sufficient vitamin D status and no high risk genotype.

Clinical Trial utilizing optogenetics to start for Retinitis Pigmentosa soon

(c) nature.com

RetroSense Therapeutics’ Investigational New Drug (IND) application for gene therapy based clinical trial for their product RST-001 has received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration. RetroSense is developing RST-001 for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic condition that leads to the progressive degeneration of rod and cone photoreceptors (cells found in the retina that sense light), resulting in severe vision loss and blindness. With its IND now in effect, RetroSense expects to initiate a Phase I/II clinical trial by year-end in order to evaluate the safety and, potentially, efficacy of RST-001.

Microglia - a potential therapeutic target in Retinitis Pigmentosa

Spider-like cells inside the brain, spinal cord and eye hunt for invaders, capturing and then devouring them. These cells, called microglia, often play a beneficial role by helping to clear trash and protect the central nervous system against infection. But a new study by researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) shows that they also accelerate damage wrought by blinding eye disorders, such as retinitis pigmentosa.

World's first-ever braille tablet has been developed

The first-ever braille tablet has been developed, using a new liquid-based technology to create tactile relief outputting braille, graphics and maps for the blind and partially sighted.

Berkeley Architect sustains his vision despite blindness

Oh, that we could see as clearly as blind architect Chris Downey. Leading his UC Berkeley seminar students to equitable, barrier-eliminating design solutions or consulting on a 170,000-square-foot blind rehab center at the Veterans Affairs center in Palo Alto or filling the stroke seat on his East Bay Rowing Club team, the 52-year-old Piedmont architect and teacher says he lacks sight, but is not without vision.