Category Archives: Retinitis Pigmentosa

Originally published June 15, 2014 at 6:58 PM | Page modified June 16, 2014 at 5:05 PM Meeting with Toby Willis, you may not notice his visual impairment. He greets you with a cheery smile and a friendly handshake. He makes eye contact with you during conversation. He treads carefully but confidently, sans walking cane. But you will notice his sidekick: a young German Shepherd guide dog named Dazzler. Willis, at 40 years old, has gradually lost his vision to retinitis pigmentosa since early childhood. He said his guide dog has been a big factor in creating a normal life for him, increasing his sense of safety and freedom, and expanding social opportunities. Disheartened by the shortage of guide dogs available for visually impaired individuals in the United States, he was inspired to take matters into his own hands. In 2011, he founded Independence Guide Dogs (IGD), a nonprofit organization based at his home near Georgetown, to help train guide dogs for blind and visually impaired individuals. IGD is run predominantly by a group of 30 volunteers, Willis included, as well as two certified guide-dog trainers and a few contractors. Their mission, he said, is to increase independence for individuals … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise In laboratory tests, researchers have used electrical stimulation of retinal cells to produce the same patterns of activity that occur when the retina sees a moving object. Although more work remains, this is a step toward restoring natural, high-fidelity vision to blind people, the researchers say. The work was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. Just 20 years ago, bionic vision was more a science fiction clich than a realistic medical goal. But in the past few years, the first artificial vision technology has come on the market in the United States and Western Europe, allowing people whove been blinded by retinitis pigmentosa to regain some of their sight. While remarkable, the technology has its limits. It has enabled people to navigate through a door and even read headline-sized letters, but not to drive, jog down the street, or see a loved ones face. A team based at Stanford University in California is working to improve the technology by targeting specific cells in the retinathe neural tissue at the back of the eye that converts light into electrical activity. Weve found that we can reproduce natural patterns of activity … Continue reading →

NIH-funded study could help improve retinal prosthetic devices In laboratory tests, researchers have used electrical stimulation of retinal cells to produce the same patterns of activity that occur when the retina sees a moving object. Although more work remains, this is a step toward restoring natural, high-fidelity vision to blind people, the researchers say. The work was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. Chichilnisky and colleagues used an electrode array to record activity from retinal ganglion cells (yellow and blue) and feed it back to them, reproducing the cells responses to visual stimulation. Credit: EJ Chichilnisky, Stanford. Just 20 years ago, bionic vision was more a science fiction clich than a realistic medical goal. But in the past few years, the first artificial vision technology has come on the market in the United States and Western Europe, allowing people whove been blinded by retinitis pigmentosa to regain some of their sight. While remarkable, the technology has its limits. It has enabled people to navigate through a door and even read headline-sized letters, but not to drive, jog down the street, or see a loved ones face. A team based at Stanford University in California is working to … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise New York, New York Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB), the leading eye research foundation, is providing $500,000 to accelerate the development of treatments for Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) -- a family of retinal diseases that progressively create extreme tunnel vision, loss of night vision and leave affected patients legally blind by the age of 40. The funds are being awarded to five nationally prominent RP investigators. "Recent breakthroughs in gene therapy that reverse vision loss in certain RP patients have given us all hope that treatments for other forms of RP are within reach," says Diane S. Swift, Chair of RPBs Board of Trustees. While we have funded RP research for decades, the restoration of sight in these young people is so dramatic, and the developments in gene therapy so promising, that we felt focused investments in key RP researchers at this crucial time could hasten life-changing treatments." The five recipients of the RPB Nelson Trust Award for Retinitis Pigmentosa were selected after rigorous review by multiple RPB advisory panels comprised of outstanding scientists and chairs of departments of ophthalmology from across the country. The award was originally conceived to produce at least … Continue reading →

Watch the Signs: Retinitis Pigmentosa Brook & Braddock Opticians, 2917 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON 416-233-2611 According to the Foundation Fighting Blindness, one in every 3,500 Canadians will suffer from retinitis pigmentosa (RP). With no cure at the moment, its important to be educated in the facts and symptoms of this inherited disease. Retinitis pigmentosa is a genetic disease where the retina slowly erodes throughout a persons life. An illness that can eventually progress to blindness, RP can usually be diagnosed during the teenage years. It can be hard to recognize symptoms but most patients in the early stages of RP have difficulty seeing in the dark and adapting to dim lighting, as well as suffer from a loss of peripheral vision. The retina, which is the layer of tissue lining the inner eye, converts light into images and is responsible for peripheral vision and central vision. When the retinal rod or cone cells are damaged, vision begins to fade. The higher concentration edges of the retina, which allow you to see above, below and to the sides, eventually becomes inoperable in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. RP is an innate condition and can be spotted by a genetic counsellor who … Continue reading →

This film will soonbe available to watch online. Please see information below to watch it on the Al Jazeera English channel. "On November the second on a Saturday, she was sitting at the dinner table and I was sitting here and I saw her It was a very special moment." This was the first time Fred van Rennes saw his wife after losing his sight around 20 years ago. Fred went blind at the age of 34 due to a degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, a condition in which the photoreceptors in the eye stop working properly. But a ground-breaking new 'bionic eye' called the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System is helping Fred and others suffering from retinitis pigmentosa to see shapes and patterns for the first time in decades. The device is made up of a miniature camera placed on a pair of glasses and electrodes which are surgically implanted on the patient's damaged retina. The camera sends wireless signals to the electrodes, which in turn send small pulses of electricity down the optical nerve to the brain, which slowly learns to interpret the pulses as visual patterns. Dr Javid Abdelmoneim travels to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to see … Continue reading →

TSUKUBA, IBARAKI PREF. Unlike many free climbers, Koichiro Kobayashi does not consider the view from the top to be the highlight of scaling a cliff. Unable to enjoy such vistas due to a severe visual impairment, Kobayashi, 46, feels a sense of achievement from completing a task that would be challenging even to those with perfect vision. An enthusiastic climber from the age of 16, Kobayashi completed several major climbs overseas after starting university. After finishing school, he worked as a canoeing guide at an outdoor sports company and climbed every weekend. But his future suddenly looked hopeless when a doctor informed him he was suffering from an inherited, degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa which would eventually leave him blind. That was at age 28. Since then, Kobayashi has been losing his eyesight little by little and now can only sense light. For the next three years after being diagnosed, Kobayashi forgot about free climbing and focused on concerns about his future. When he was 31, however, he met a caseworker who encouraged him to take the sport up again, saying, It is important to think what you want to do in the future, not what you cant. Kobayashi … Continue reading →

Tackling the Mystery of Retinitis Pigmentosa I attended the Congress in February of 2014 (http://www.futuredocs.com) and its profound and powerful impact it had on me is what caused (the usually lazy) m... By: Gloria Nashed … Continue reading →

Published on June 01, 2014 TRURO Ride for Sight is once again coming to Truro. The event, en route to Urbania, will depart Truro on June 14 and parade through Colchester and Hants counties in support of vision research. Its the largest motorcycle fundraiser in Canada for vision research. I worry about my eyesight and my future every day, said Maritime Ride for Sight organizing committee chairperson Kelly Rivard, who lives with a medical condition that jeopardizes her sight. The Ride for Sight brings motorcyclists from across our region together to raise funds for researchers who seek to treat blinding diseases, and to inspire hope for me, and for other Canadian families touched by vision loss. In Canada, more than one million people are living with retinal diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and that number is growing. AMD is the leading cause of blindness in Canadians over the age of 50. The parade will depart from the Truro Power Centre at 12 noon on June 14. Registration will run from 10 to 11:30 a.m., with a parade kick off opening ceremonies at 11:30 p.m. Bikes will line up at 11:40 a.m. for parade departure. Motorcyclists … Continue reading →

Sofia Lampson image credit: courtesy Annette Lampson Lifes sunny side shines through Sofia Lampson, especially when shes Highland dancing. Whenever I hear the music, my legs want to dance, said the Celtic Rhythm student ready for Saturdays big Cowichan Theatre recital. I like dance because its fast; I like doing fast things, and moving. But seeing motion and more isnt easy for the energetic eight-year-old getting costly treatments for degenerative retinitis pigmentosa often called RP, or tunnel vision. So her family and dance school are asking Cowichanians to help fund Lampsons expensive treatments. A silent-auction Fundraiser For Sofias Sight happens after Saturdays 7 p.m. show. Treatments could cost $15,000 in the next few years. The Lampsons find them effective, but they are not endorsed by the Canadian medical establishment and not covered by B.C.s health care. Mainstream medicine hasnt any possibility of curing it, said Lampsons mom, Annette. The only thing they can do is monitor how its progressing. A specialist in Victoria said they can do something with genetic medicine, but thats years down the road. However, the Lampsons heard of treatments by Chinese-medicine practitioner Dr. Weidong Yu of Vancouvers Wellspring Clinic. He specializes in RP. People come from … Continue reading →