StemCell Therapy

The global epidemic in type 2 diabetes mellitus is of unprecedented proportions. In absolute numbers, it probably exceeds any previous epidemic in the history of mankind. There are now more than 400 million people with diabetes in the world, and the number is projected to exceed 600 million by 2030.

In 2000, there were only 150 million people in the world with diabetes. In China alone, there are now more diabetic patients than were in the world when diabetic eye screening and preventive care for diabetic eye disease started in the 1980s.

During 20 years with type 2 diabetes, roughly 66% of patients develop retinopathy and about 33% develop sight-threatening retinopathy, where treatment is needed to prevent vision loss. Thus, we may expect that one-third of the more than 400 million people currently with diabetes will develop diabetic macular oedema or proliferative diabetic retinopathy within the next 20 years.

Taking action

Systematic screening for eye disease in diabetic patients started in northern Europe in the 1980s, with dramatic lowering of diabetic blindness, for example, in Iceland. In the UK, systematic screening over the past 2 decades has demoted diabetes from being the most frequent cause of blindness in the working-age population.

A global effort to prevent an epidemic of diabetic blindness must be based on the proven success of systematic eye screening and preventive treatment. This is a huge task.

Presently, systematic screening for diabetic eye disease is regularly undertaken in a few northern European countries and sporadically by some eye clinics and regions elsewhere.

Most diabetic patients around the world do not have access to diabetic eye screening. The cost is considerable. Each screening visit in European settings costs 30 to 50. If this number is multiplied by 400 million, we are soon talking about real money.

Technologic developments can help economise this process. Risk stratification can help focus resources toward those at greatest risk and reduce the overall costs of screening programs by 50%.

Automatic analysis of fundus photographs is progressing rapidly and novel automatic approaches are on the horizon, including measuring diabetic retinopathy severity with oximetry analysis of fundus photographs.

Telemedicine can help extend the reach of diabetic eye screening, and improving technology in fundus photography and rapidly lowering cost of such instrumentation all make global diabetic eye screening more affordable.

While global diabetic eye screening is a considerable task, the cost of doing nothing is much greater.

Original post:
Global diabetes epidemic must not become epidemic of blindness - ModernMedicine

What is colorblindness?

Most of us share a common color vision sensory experience. Some people, however, have a color vision deficiency, which means their perception of colors is different from what most of us see. The most severe forms of these deficiencies are referred to as color blindness. People with color blindness arent aware of differences among colors that are obvious to the rest of us. People who dont have the more severe types of color blindness may not even be aware of their condition unless theyre tested in a clinic orlaboratory.

Inherited color blindness is caused by abnormal photopigments. These color-detecting molecules are located in cone-shaped cells within the retina, called cone cells. In humans, several genes are needed for the body to make photopigments, and defects in these genes can lead to colorblindness.

There are three main kinds of color blindness, based on photopigment defects in the three different kinds of cones that respond to blue, green, and red light. Red-green color blindness is the most common, followed by blue-yellow color blindness. A complete absence of color vision total color blindness israre.

Sometimes color blindness can be caused by physical or chemical damage to the eye, the optic nerve, or parts of the brain that process color information. Color vision can also decline with age, most often because of cataract - a clouding and yellowing of the eyeslens.

As many as 8 percent of men and 0.5 percent of women with Northern European ancestry have the common form of red-green colorblindness.

Men are much more likely to be colorblind than women because the genes responsible for the most common, inherited color blindness are on the X chromosome. Males only have one X chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes. In females, a functional gene on only one of the X chromosomes is enough to compensate for the loss on the other. This kind of inheritance pattern is called X-linked, and primarily affects males. Inherited color blindness can be present at birth, begin in childhood, or not appear until the adultyears.

Genes are bundled together on structures called chromosomes. One copy of each chromosome is passed by a parent at conception through egg and sperm cells. The X and Y chromosomes, known as sex chromosomes, determine whether a person is born female (XX) or male (XY) and also carry other traits not related togender.

In X-linked inheritance, the mother carries the mutated gene on one of her X chromosomes and will pass on the mutated gene to 50 percent of her children. Because females have two X chromosomes, the effect of a mutation on one X chromosome is offset by the normal gene on the other X chromosome. In this case the mother will not have the disease, but she can pass on the mutated gene and so is called a carrier. If a mother is a carrier of an X-linked disease (and the father is not affected), there isa:

In autosomal recessive inheritance, it takes two copies of the mutant gene to give rise to the disease. An individual who has one copy of a recessive gene mutation is known as a carrier. When two carriers have a child, there isa:

In autosomal dominant inheritance, it takes just one copy of the mutant gene to bring about the disease. When an affected parent with one dominant gene mutation has a child, there is a 1 in 2 chance that a child will inherit thedisease.

What color is a strawberry? Most of us would say red, but do we all see the same red? Color vision depends on our eyes and brain working together to perceive different properties oflight.

We see the natural and artificial light that illuminates our world as white, although it is actually a mixture of colors that, perceived on their own, would span the visual spectrum from deep blue to deep red. You can see this when rain separates sunlight into a rainbow or a glass prism separates white light into a multi-color band. The color of light is determined by its wavelength. Longer wavelength corresponds to red light and shorter wavelength corresponds to bluelight.

Strawberries and other objects reflect some wavelengths of light and absorb others. The reflected light we perceive as color. So, a strawberry is red because its surface is only reflecting the long wavelengths we see as red and absorbing the others. An object appears white when it reflects all wavelengths and black when it absorbs allwavelengths.

Vision begins when light enters the eye and the cornea and lens focus it onto the retina, a thin layer of tissue at the back of the eye that contains millions of light-sensitive cells called photoreceptors. Some photoreceptors are shaped like rods and some are shaped like cones. In each eye there are many more rods than cones approximately 120 million rods compared to only 6 million cones. Rods and cones both contain photopigment molecules that undergo a chemical change when they absorb light. This chemical change acts like an on-switch, triggering electrical signals that are then passed from the retina to the visual parts of thebrain.

Rods and cones are different in how they respond to light. Rods are more responsive to dim light, which makes them useful for night vision. Cones are more responsive to bright light, such as in the daytime when light isplentiful.

Another important difference is that all rods contain only one photopigment, while cones contain one of three different photopigments. This makes cones sensitive to long (red), medium (green), or short (blue) wavelengths of light. The presence of three types of photopigments, each sensitive to a different part of the visual spectrum, is what gives us our rich colorvision.

Humans are unusual among mammals for our trichromatic vision named for the three different types of photopigments we have. Most mammals, including dogs, have just two photopigment types. Other creatures, such as butterflies, have more than three. They may be able to see colors we can onlyimagine.

Most of us have a full set of the three different cone photopigments and so we share a very similar color vision experience, but because the human eye and brain together translate light into color, each of us sees colors differently. The differences may be slight. Your blue may be more blue than someone elses, or in the case of color blindness, your red and green may be someone elsesbrown.

The most common types of color blindness are inherited. They are the result of defects in the genes that contain the instructions for making the photopigments found in cones. Some defects alter the photopigments sensitivity to color, for example, it might be slightly more sensitive to deeper red and less sensitive to green. Other defects can result in the total loss of a photopigment. Depending on the type of defect and the cone that is affected problems can arise with red, green, or blue colorvision.

The most common types of hereditary color blindness are due to the loss or limited function of red cone (known as protan) or green cone (deutran) photopigments. This kind of color blindness is commonly referred to as red-green colorblindness.

Blue-yellow color blindness is rarer than red-green color blindness. Blue-cone (tritan) photopigments are either missing or have limitedfunction.

People with complete color blindness (monochromacy) dont experience color at all and the clearness of their vision (visual acuity) may also beaffected.

There are two types ofmonochromacy:

Eye care professionals use a variety of tests to diagnose color blindness. These tests can quickly diagnose specific types of colorblindness.

The Ishihara Color Test is the most common test for red-green color blindness. The test consists of a series of colored circles, called Ishihara plates, each of which contains a collection of dots in different colors and sizes. Within the circle are dots that form a shape clearly visible to those with normal color vision, but invisible or difficult to see for those with red-green colorblindness.

The newer Cambridge Color Test uses a visual array similar to the Ishihara plates, except displayed on a computer monitor. The goal is to identify a C shape that is different in color from the background. The C is presented randomly in one of four orientations. When test-takers see the C, they are asked to press one of four keys that correspond to theorientation.

The anomaloscope uses a test in which two different light sources have to be matched in color. Looking through the eyepiece, the viewer sees a circle. The upper half is a yellow light that can be adjusted in brightness. The lower half is a combination of red and green lights that can be mixed in variable proportions. The viewer uses one knob to adjust the brightness of the top half, and another to adjust the color of the lower half. The goal is to make the upper and lower halves the same brightness andcolor.

The HRR Pseudoisochromatic Color Test is another red-green color blindness test that uses color plates to test for colorblindness.

The Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue Test uses a set of blocks or pegs that are roughly the same color but in different hues (shades of the color). The goal is to arrange them in a line in order of hue. This test measures the ability to discriminate subtle color changes. It is used by industries that depend on the accurate color perception of its employees, such as graphic design, photography, and food qualityinspection.

The Farnsworth Lantern Test is used by the U.S. military to determine the severity of color blindness. Those with mild forms pass the test and are allowed to serve in the armedforces.

There is no cure for color blindness. However, people with red-green color blindness may be able to use a special set of lenses to help them perceive colors more accurately. These lenses can only be used outdoors under bright lighting conditions. Visual aids have also been developed to help people cope with color blindness. There are iPhone and iPad apps, for example, that help people with color blindness discriminate among colors. Some of these apps allow users to snap a photo and tap it anywhere on the image to see the color of that area. More sophisticated apps allow users to find out both color and shades of color. These kinds of apps can be helpful in selecting ripe fruits such as bananas, or finding complementary colors when picking outclothing.

Color blindness can make it difficult to read color-coded information such as bar graphs and pie charts. This can be particularly troubling for children who arent yet diagnosed with color blindness, since educational materials are often color-coded. Children with red-green color blindness may also have difficulty reading a green chalkboard when yellow chalk is used. Art classes, which require selecting appropriate colors of paint or crayons, may bechallenging.

Color blindness can go undetected for some time since children will often try to hide their disorder. Its important to have children tested, particularly boys, if there is a family history of color blindness. Many school systems offer vision screening tests that include color blindness testing. Once a child is diagnosed, he or she can learn to ask for help with tasks that require colorrecognition.

Simple everyday tasks like cooking meat to the desired color or selecting ripe produce can be a challenge for adults. Children might find food without bright color as less appetizing. Traffic lights pose challenges, since they have to be read by the position of the light. Since most lights are vertical, with green on bottom and red on top, if a light is positioned horizontally, a color blind person has to do a quick mental rotation to read it. Reading maps or buying clothes that match colors can also be difficult. However, these are relatively minor inconveniences and most people with color blindness learn toadapt.

NEI-supported researchers have used gene therapy to cure color blindness in adult monkeys. While red-green color blindness affects about 8 percent of Northern European-descended men, it affects all adult male squirrel monkeys because males of the species carry either the gene that makes red photopigment or the gene that makes green photopigment, but never both. The researchers injected the red photopigment gene into the retinas of male monkeys born without it. The gene was targeted to green cones and allowed those cells to respond to red light. The monkeys were able to see with full three-color (trichromatic) vision. This shows that even though the monkeys red cones had been absent from birth, the brain circuitry for detecting red was still in placeoffering hope that a similar approach could help people whove been colorblind sincebirth.

In another study, NEI-supported researchers were able to restore some color perception in an animal model of rod monochromacy (in which all three cone types are missing), using a gene therapy approach in younger animals. The therapy combined gene delivery with the addition of neurotrophic factors molecules that are known to help nerve cells grow. Further studies will be testing whether the therapy could be safe and effective inhumans.

An ongoing NEI clinical trial is testing whether treatment with a growth factor alone could be enough to improve or restore visual function of cone cells in people. This has the potential to help people with color blindness, as well as diseases that are the result of the loss of cones or conefunction.

Researchers supported by NEI are also studying how cones develop in the retina and how they are maintained and preserved throughout the lifespan. This research could lead to therapies for color-blindness that occurs during childhood or later in life due to the gradual loss ofcones.

The rest is here:
Facts About Color Blindness | National Eye Institute

Drawing faces or caricatures of friends and family, Jennifer Rothschild remembers always loving art.

BR photo by Steve Cooke Jennifer Rothschild discussed when she lost her sight as a teenager with partipants in this years Baptists on Mission conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. She stressed that even through tough times, It is Well With My Soul, referring to an old hymn. See BRnow.org/Photo-Gallery.

Rothschild gave her testimony during the March 17-18 Baptists on Mission conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. She also led a breakout session called When Life Isnt Fair. The theme for the event was Reconciled based on 2 Corinthians 5:18. She was 15 when she got her first diary and proceeded to write down everything, what I wore, what boy talked to me at school that day, she said. In the margins, she would draw caricatures. Because of her talent for art, her class chose her to make a banner for field day. It was while drawing the schools mascot on a white bed sheet that she noticed there were problems with the sheet. It looked like a marker had damaged the white sheet. Rothschild tried wiping the spots away, but her friend said the sheet was perfectly white. A few days later, Rothschild was at an eye doctor followed by a visit to an eye hospital where she was diagnosed with a progressive eye disease and declared legally blind. Some things began to make sense, she said, like her math grades she couldnt see the board. To be honest, there were a lot more things that didnt make sense. After hearing a prognosis of total blindness, Rothschild said she felt a soul silence. Words like blindness or cancer, you just dont expect it to ever be your word, she said. The silence that fell in the conference room seemed to follow us home, she said as she reminisced about her dads knuckles gripped to the steering wheel. My dad was my pastor, she said. He was the one who led me to Christ. He was the one who baptized me. My dad knew everything, and my dad was silent. I can only imagine what he was praying that day. In that 40-minute drive home, she realized her dreams of becoming an artist were dashed. Upon returning home, Rothschild sat down at an old, upright piano and began to play. While she had lessons when she was younger, piano was not something she practiced or kept up, but that day she played in a way that I hadnt played before. By ear, she played It is Well. It was almost as if God, in all of His mercy, allowed a door to be closed at that eye hospital and allowed another door to be opened right there as I played that piano. It was because of Christ that He made it well with my soul, she said. I mean, the truth is, sisters and brothers, it is not always well with our circumstances, and on that day, and even on this day, it was not well with my circumstances. Rothschilds parents moved her to a smaller Christian school from the large public school she was attending in Miami. She went on to a Christian college about 90 miles from her family. Facing dark sometimes may be bigger than our faith, she said, referencing Isaiah 45:3 where treasures are found in darkness. Sometimes we dont experience the treasures because we are not willing to step into the dark. Sometimes we dont hear His voice because we have not stepped out of our comfort zone to a place where we can hear Him more clearly. Rothschild, now 53, and her husband have two boys, born about 10 years apart. They are expecting their first grandchild. Ive learned that I can be blind with the Lord, but theres no way I can be blind without Him, she said. Im learning that with blindness grief and gratefulness can share the same heartbeat. No matter how heavy your burden is, the glory is going to be heavier. What is seen is temporary; what is unseen is eternal so let us fix our eyes on Jesus. Rothschild began her breakout session quoting A.W. Tozer: What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us. She asked people to think, What do I think about God? Is God just not fair? Or is God just, not fair? When in doubt she urged people to think about Psalm 18:30, which describes Gods perfect ways. The reality is, they dont always feel perfect for us, she said. Referring to the workers in Matthew 20, the landowner had offered to pay people for their work but some had worked way less than the workers who had been sweating all day in the fields. [The] wage offered was the same to all the workers regardless of how much or how little they worked, she said. Sometimes its because we associate equality and fairness with God being just. Im really convinced that you and I are probably more grateful that God isnt fair as we define fairness. Rothschild emphasized the acronym FAIR.

When we fix our eyes on Jesus, then we have the perspective that we need, she said. When we consider Him then we dont lose heart.

Lots of us in the church are hesitant to be honest when things just arent working out in our hearts or in our minds, she said. We dont like to admit our struggles often, because we think it makes God look bad or perhaps because of our faith we shouldnt have these feelings or questions. But I believe, to really live authentically and to show forth the strength and glory of God, we admit our pain because its in our weaknesses where His strength is magnified. Rothschild said its possible to be authentic before God and others in a way that brings God glory rather than attention to you for the wrong reasons. When we are mature in Christ and were living by His grace, we learn that balance, she said.

Describing herself as a lone-ranger Christian, Rothschild said she leans towards emphasizing the words I can in Philippians 4:13 rather than Gods strength. When I do that, I dont invite Gods presence into my situation, she said, but when we do invite Gods presence, it allows for more intimacy with Him. Only in His presence is there clarity and light, she said.

Sometimes you cant find rest in your situation, but we can always find rest in the Lord, Rothschild said. The older I get, I really think theres one of two postures we take in life. Were either going to wrestle, or were going to rest. Theres really very little neutral. It is through resting in the Lord that we begin to experience perhaps all of the blessings and lessons that He intended to tuck into that really difficult thing in our life for us to learn from and grow from, she said. A few years ago, Rothschild admitted she really had a crash, where the weight of her blindness felt overwhelming. I wasnt admitting my pain, she said. I wasnt inviting God into my situation. I was wrestling with every aspect of it. She read the Bible but she couldnt hear God. Reading C.S. Lewis, her favorite author, led her back to the Bible. I just needed somebody with skin on to say Ive been there and hes a million times smarter than me so man, there was a point there where I thought if he can rest in this, then so can I, she said. [God] withholds no good thing from us, Rothschild stressed. Hes given us Himself, and if you dont have an answer, if you dont have satisfaction in your situation, youve been already given Christ, and Hes far more satisfying than any answer. Visit jenniferrothschild.com.

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Artist: Blindness reveals mercy of God - Brnow

Science Daily

Fish eyes to help understand human inherited blindness: Discovery ... Science Daily Discovery of a gene in zebrafish that triggers congenital blindness could lead to a suitable cure for similar disease in humans. and more »

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Fish eyes to help understand human inherited blindness: Discovery ... - Science Daily

By Marc Levy Monday, April 3, 2017

The 2017 ReelAbilities Film Festival comes to Cambridge and Somerville to wrap up the year: Notes on Blindness screens at 7 p.m. Monday at the Brattle, and Rachel Is at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Main Library. The festival ends with Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing, an HBO documentary made with The Boston Globe, in a 7 p.m. Thursday showing that includes a talk with two subjects of the film and Globe reporter Eric Moskowitz.

The 10-film festival has been inclusive in its definition of disability, and films seen since the kickoff Wednesday have explored autism, blindness, Down syndrome, muscular dystrophy and psychiatric conditions. Each documentary challenges our audience to think differently about people with disabilities in a time when conversations about diversity are crucial, said Mara Bresnahan, director of the festival.

The three documentaries on the way:

Notes on Blindness follows writer and theologian John Hull as his sight deteriorates to the point of total blindness in 1983, with him speaking into a cassette recorder to make sense of the upheaval it causes and his journey into a world beyond sight. Directors James Spinney and Peter Middleton who will do a Q&A via Skype after the screening enliven the story by having actors lip-sync to the recordings, adding a sense of intimacy. Tickets are $12 for the 7 p.m. Monday screening at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square.

Rachel Is explores the relationship between Jane and Rachel, her developmentally disabled daughter, as each seeks independence from the other. Afterward, director Charlotte Glynn will be on hand for a discussion with Susan Senator, author of Autism Adulthood: Strategies and Insights for a Fulfilling Life. The 6:30 p.m. Tuesday screening at the Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge, is free, but registration is encouraged by clicking here and using the button to buy tickets.

Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing uses never-before-seen footage to show the emotional and physical recovery of people whose lives were changed at the Boston Marathon bombing a newlywed couple, a mother and daughter, and two brothers. Bombing survivors and film subjects Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky will be on hand to talk with the audience, with the Globes Moskowitz moderating. The film shows at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, with $10 tickets released at the box office an hour before.

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ReelAbilities brings three of its final films, including docs on blindness, race bombing - Cambridge Day (registration)

posted Yesterday

Blindness is one of the physical defects that can cripple a man and make him almost useless and insignificant in a world where normal people live. The gift of seeing is one of the best gifts that God has bestowed on man. We cannot imagine a world where there is nothing but darkness all over. We all are dreaming to see all the beautiful sights that this world can offer us to see. And so, to be blind is almost synonymous to dying because blindness and darkness are the alter ego of death.

The man in our gospel today is dead from his birth. He never saw the world since birth and to the world standards, he is dead. His humanity is filled with the darkness of despair, loneliness, misery and maybe with so much pain and agony. But his spirit does not follow the same path for he is destined to meet the Lord who would eventually give him what he lacks and perfect his defects. Jesus did not instantaneously give him his eyesight but he did it with a condition of washing the mud from his eyes first that Jesus smeared on him. Other gospel miracles tell us of instant cures and instant solutions to problems but this one requires something from the blind man. God is not being unjust here but maybe he simply wants to raise a point that out of every grace that is freely given to man, there is a corresponding obligation or duty on the part of man. I think this is fair enough because we are not supposed to be spoon fed by God without us doing our part.

After his sight was given to him, he bowed down and worshipped Jesus, his Lord. Bowing down would mean his submission of his entire life to God and he placed the Lord at the center of his life in worship. Now the blind man has been transformed from a dead and useless creature to a living and efficient tool of propagating Gods love and mercy to the world. In the darkness of his life, the light of Christ had shone. In his death, the new life in Christ has dawned. And in his despair, hope was his salvation.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the whole country is in darkness and the whole country is dead. We can also say that the whole country is beginning to despair and that the Philippines is physically blind. I dont need to elaborate on these things because I know that you know so well that these are the harsh realities that confront each and everyone of us. We clamor for a change not only in our government and leaders but change in the entire system of our life as Filipinos. We start to blame one another save ourselves because we no longer want to remain blind and embrace the darkness in our life. We are in darkness because we are blind to the truth. We are hopeless because we do not want the Lord to rule our lives and in the process let go of our personal dreams and ambitions. We are dead because the light of Christ has been vanished by our selfishness.

So where do we go? The blind man in the gospel is so lucky that Christ had passed by where he was probably sitting. However, we are not so lucky just like him because the truth is we are even luckier than him because Christ is wanting day and night to be with us. The problem lies in our stubbornness and our refusal to simply let him in to our lives. We do not want our country to be ruled by God and this is evidenced by the fact that we continue to cloud the truth to come out in the open. We can never be like the blind man who turned out to be personification of Gods love and mercy and we can never have the new life because what we want actually is to remain forever in the darkness of our lives and in our sinfulness.

This country is sick. Change in the leadership may not be the solution and the people power also may not be the necessary means to effect change. What we actually need is the change of heart of every man. I bet this is next to impossible and so, personally, my fervent prayer is for every corrupt government officials, the executors of political killings and extra-judicial killings, the liars in the senate hearings, the rapists and drug addicts, the robbers and killers, the pimps and the harlots to simply settle in this forsaken country of ours. When everyone of them from the whole wide world is gathered in this little archipelago, maybe thats the time for me to settle somewhere else where peace and tranquility, justice and equality, goodness and Gods love reign as never before. Thats the only time when we can say we are no longer blind.

The rest is here:
Heal Our Blindness, Lord - Catanduanes Tribune

Pics: Umesh Marpalli Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Apr 2: Kishen Gangolli from Kundapurcame out with the gold medal in the IBCA Asian Chess Championship for the blind held at Manipal which came to an end on Friday March 31. Kishan, who ended the eighth round against Aryan B Joshi from Maharasthra on Friday through a draw, was declared winner for having collected maximum of seven out of eight possible points. Born blind, Kishen has never accepted blindness as a shortcoming.

Kishen now aims atchess Olympiad for the blind being held in June this year at Macedonia. He wants to win gold medal for the team in addition willing gold medal for himself. In 2012, he had participated in the chess Olympiad held in Chennai and won gold medal. India, the best performance of which was 16th place in Olympiad till then, won fifth spot in that competition. Kishen has been working hard for himself and the country since then.

Indian chess team now comprises Kishan Gangolli, Makwan Ashwin K of Gujarat, who got silver medal this time, Soundarya Kumar Pradhan of Odisha and Aryan Joshi and Patil Shjrish from Maharashtra.

Kishan (25) is from Gangolli in Kundapur taluk. His father, Raveendra, employed in Canara Bank, has settled down in Shivamogga. His mother works as beautician in Shivamogga. Kishen happens to be the only child of his parents. He has secured MA in economics from Kuvempu University with second rank.

Kishen took to chess seriously when in sixth standard with the support of his maternal uncle. He began to participate in chess competitions for the blind in 2011. He was initially trained by Krishna Udupa from Shivamogga who happens to be another blind chess player.

Kishen usually mingles with everyone without unduly publicizing his handicap or seeking any undue favour. Kishen feels that he could come so far because of his habit of overlooking his blindness and the determination to do more in sports and life.

Continue reading here:
Udupi: Kishen Gangolli - Blindness is no hindrance to this chess champ - Daijiworld.com

As I write these words, the death toll from the blast outside an imambargah in Parachinar has increased to 22. There is no doubt that the number will grow further. A day earlier, a leader of the Ahmedi community, Malik Saleem Latif was brutally killed while on his way to the court. These incidents are exclamation marks and need to be treated seriously.

There is much sadness in these words. As a student in a foreign country, Ive tried very hard to present a peaceful image of Pakistan to the international community. Ive spent hours trying to justify our ruthlessness after 9/11. I have expressed my annoyance at the international audience for not giving the Pakistani culture as much attention as they give to Indian culture. Ive expressed anger when theyve termed something distinctly Pakistani as Indian. Ive expressed sorrow when, after munching on Pakistani delicacies, theyve exclaimed their love for Indian food. I digress. However, the truth is that this has been an unlevel field and Ive tried very hard to have people fall in love with the Pakistan I earnestly love. Of course its been a difficult job and Pakistan hasnt made it any easier.

There is no way to justify any form of violence. There is much to learn from people who find themselves terrorised after a racial slur is thrown in their society. There is even more to embrace from a nation that mourns as one when a single life is wasted. There is much to acknowledge from a community that identifies each other as human and insist thats the only distinction that matters.

Pakistan is a different context. Or, is it? Time and time again, we have reasoned ourselves for our shortfalls. The many, many shortfalls. Weve reasoned to ourselves over our softness towards the monsters that were the Taliban, weve reasoned shamelessly on sainting the murderer Qadri, weve reasoned our disregard for continuing to allow Maulana Abdul Aziz to preach hatred against our mere existence, weve reasoned (or at least Hamza Ali Abbasi has) our failure to see Hafiz Saeed as a terrorist. Time and time again we have reasoned with ourselves for not terming incidents like Parachinar for what they are: sectarian violence. We continue to reason the discrimination and prosecution of the Ahmedi community. There is so much more.

The reaction to such complaints are consistently redundant. Why dont you look at the positives? Why just focus on the negatives? The answer remains the same: cherry picking certain good things out of a murky pond of a country does not prove Pakistan to be a nation of realists. It proves Pakistan to be a nation of foolish optimists, delusional people who are addicted to their blindness.

Irfan Hussain, started his writeup for Nov 20, 2010 by indicating that he realised the nugatory of his pleas and simply wrote to vent his spleen. Dec 25, 2011, Ardeshir Cowasjee bade farewell to his incredible career with these words: Now, old at 85, tired, and disillusioned with a country that just cannot pull itself together in any way and get on with life in this day and age, I have decided to call it a day. This column too caries no burden of expectations with it.

The way to move forward is easy: we have to stop moving forward. We have to be angry when the likes of Chaudry Nisar take the podium and justify the banning of social media. We need to be flabbergasted by Justice Shaukat Aziz who seems to be living under a stone for thinking that social media is all about selfies and pictures of food. We need to put a check to our laziness for refusing to knock sanity into our social psyche.

Why should the people abroad fall in love with Pakistan? Why would investors and entrepreneurs penetrate the market that seeks to eliminate social media; the arena and foundation of countless businesses. Why would anyone have any pity for a country that is bent upon butchering itself by exaggerating differences based on personal beliefs? Why would anyone see Pakistanis as humans when for them a religious deviant is no more a human?

As any foolish does, I too hope for a time when Pakistan will not be what it is today. The country is its own demon and the only way to escape this tragedy is to stop being itself. Till then I shall continue harassing the international audience for not being as delusional as I am, for not romanticising the past as I do, for not being in love with Pakistan like I am.

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Addicted to blindness - The Nation

Setting off from the Isle of Wight to walk around the world is the aim of one couple.

Robin Frape and his partner Julie Binnington will set off today (Friday) from their Island home in on the first leg of their mammoth journey.

Its set to raise awareness and money for sight charity RP Fighting Blindness.

Robin has hereditary retinitis pigmentosa (RP) disease and is progressively losing his sight and its forced him to give up his job as a hydrographic surveyor, mapping out the ocean floor.

Robin says:

I ended up having to stop working and find a new way of life. So thats the point Ive come to is to try and find a little bit of purpose. Im hoping I can raise a bunch of awareness and hopefully some money to go to the cause at the same time

The couple are funding the trip themselves and all the money raised will go to RP Fighting Blindness.

They will leave the Island from Yarmouth on Saturday, walk through the New Forest towards Wales and then its up to Scotland before crossing over to Ireland. Theyll walk to the south of Ireland where they will head to Europe to continue their journey.

Robin says:

I will get to a point where Im not going to be able to see properly, everything will just be sort of foggy and distorted to the point that functioning properly is reallynot going to be a possibility but its going to be a great opportunity to basically walk and see everything at eye level and do it slowly and just take everything in while we can.

You can follow their progress on their Facebook page or donate to RP Fighting Blindness by the Just Giving page.

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Isle Of Wight Couple In Worldwide Walk For RP Fighting Blindness - Isle of Wight Radio

By Bishop Anthony B. Taylor

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor delivered this homily March 26.

Knowledge is light an inner light comes on when we understand something which is why we say, I see! But this seeing is insight, not just eyesight. And with insight comes power.

In todays Gospel Jesus enables a blind man to see. He starts by giving him eyesight, but by the end of the story this man also has insight. An inner light has come on regarding who Jesus is. Now not only does he see, he understands.

But not so the other people in the story. They have eyesight but no insight. They see but do not understand.

There are certain things to which we are blind, regarding which we lack insight.

n His neighbors and family see that a miracle has occurred, but they are afraid to look at what that might say about Jesus. They are cowards. They dont want to upset the powers that be, so they say they dont know how it happened, which leaves them ignorant and powerless.

We say ignorance is bliss but nothing could be further from the truth. As Forest Gump says: If youre going to be dumb, youd better be tough. Ignorance makes a persons life difficult, not easy.

n Then there are the Pharisees. Where this mans neighbors and family claim ignorance due to fear, Jesus adversaries are reduced to ignorance by hatred, which has already closed their minds to him and by pride which leads them to think they know more than they really do. They know youre not supposed to work on the Sabbath and they know Jesus did this on the Sabbath, so they conclude that Jesus cannot be from God because he does not keep the Sabbath.

Of course by now they were just looking for an excuse to get rid of him. They were blinded by hatred and pride, which deprived them of insight into who Jesus is and why, therefore, in his case the normal rules of logic simply do not apply.

n By contrast, the man born blind is open to Jesus and is courageous, but there is one odd thing about this miracle: He never asked to be healed!

Almost all of Jesus other miracles of healing follow a similar pattern. The person asks for healing, Jesus asks if they believe in him, they say yes and then he works the miracle because of their faith. Thats not what happens here: Jesus cures this man without being asked, saying instead that the reason for this miracle was so that the works of God might be made visible so we can see that Jesus is the Light of the World, so we could have insight and not just eyesight. And while this miracle doesnt fit the usual pattern, the end result is the same: the blind man puts his faith in Jesus.

You and I are like the people in this story: There are certain things to which we are blind, regarding which we lack insight. Sometimes this is willful blindness due to fear we see this in the actions of our government regarding immigration.

Sometimes our lack of insight is due to ignorance, bad information, strong feelings but little knowledge, which keeps us from seeing how in certain matters just like in todays Gospel the normal rules simply do not apply. Sometimes we are blinded by hatred or pride.

But it need not be that way. Jesus is the Light of the World and he invites us to be like the man he heals in todays Gospel: open and courageous, trying our best to live in the light ourselves making sure we have good information, all the facts and then striving courageously to bring the light to others.

After all, ignorance is not bliss. It can actually be very destructive. And its also no excuse.

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Blindness can be caused by fear, ignorance, hatred - Arkansas Catholic

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In recent years gender-fluid clothes have become more common in ads and runway shows look at Pharrell wearing a Chanel purse, Jaden Smiths collection of skirts, or Burberrys Virginia Woolfinspired September collection. Youd think this was a liberal-thinking, Western-oriented trend but its not. The most exciting line out of South Korea, Blindness, fully embraces the idea that its all about making beautiful pieces that anyone, regardless of social preconceptions of gender norms, can wear.

Designers KyuYoung Shin and JiSun Park debuted the brand in 2013, but it was their last collection that really launched their work globally. Their The Danish Girlinspired spring 2017 collection was filled with corset-inspired silhouettes, pearl trims, and millennial-pink ruffles mostly shown on men. It was enough to grab the attention of the judges behind the LVMH prize, where they finished as semifinalists.

Taking the momentum from being noticed by one of the most influential luxury-fashion conglomerates, the duo decided to go even flashier for their fall collection. This time the idea sprang from the death of David Bowie and his fashion legacy. What resulted was sparkly, eye-catching mix of puffers, dresses, cowboy boots, and yes, more pearl accents on mostly men with a few women sprinkled in.

Their choice in what each model wears down the runway feels deliberately unconventional. The two women skew more masculine while their muse, male model Jae Yong Na, at one point wears a pearl-studded crop top, while another outfit features a sequin-studded pencil skirt with knee-high red boots. Even the closing look, a silver evening dress is shown on a tough, bald-headed guy with a chest full of tattoos.

While the designers might not have a dream client, its easy to imagine seeing someone like Rihanna, Jared Leto, or Frank Ocean in the clothes. And really, given their current track record, it wont be long before we do.

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This Gender-Fluid Line From Korea Caught LVMH's Eye - New York Magazine

Miami Herald

Cutting-edge gene therapy provides hope for patients with inherited eye conditions Miami Herald Imagine stepping out into a bright South Florida morning and literally being so sensitive to light that it causes painful blindness. Imagine, too, being unable to discriminate between colors and slowly (and reluctantly) adapting to losing your sight ...

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Cutting-edge gene therapy provides hope for patients with inherited eye conditions - Miami Herald

The government is set to change a four-decade-old definition of blindness to bring it in line with the WHO criteria and ensure the Indian data on blindness meets the global estimates. The change in definition will bring down the number of blind persons by 4 million in India.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines blindness as visual sharpness of less than 3/60, or a corresponding visual field loss to less than 10 degrees in the better eye, even with the best possible spectacle correction.

The National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) in India, on the other hand, defines blindness as vision of 6/60 or less and a visual field loss of 20 degrees or less in the better eye, after spectacle correction.

This means a person unable to count fingers from a distance of six metres is categorised as blind in India, against the WHOs stipulation of three metres.

With the NPCB definition, we will be addressing an extra 4 million individuals, blind due to refractive errors. By adopting the blindness criteria of the WHO, India can achieve the Vision 2020 goal, said Dr Praveen Vashist, in-charge of community ophthalmology at Dr RP Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences at AIIMS.

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Under Vision 2020, India has to reduce the prevalence of blindness to 0.3% of the total population.

India projects a higher number of blind people at international forums because of its definition. India currently has around 12 million blind people against 39 million globally -- which makes India home to one-third of the worlds blind population.

We will bring the definition of blindness at par with the WHOs criteria. Because of the current definition, we project a higher figure of blind people from India at any international forum. Thus India gets presented in a poor light compared to other countries, said NPCB deputy director general Promila Gupta.

Also, she said, the data we generate under the programme cannot be compared with the global estimates as other countries are following the WHO criteria.

Uniformity in the definition across various regions of the world is a pre-requisite for facilitating collection of population-based data on prevalence of blindness and estimating its global burden, Gupta said.

The health ministry is also planning to change the nomenclature of NPCB to the National Programme for Control of Visual Impairment and Blindness.

The idea is to further strengthen the programme by focusing not only on the blind persons but also those with some kind of visual impairment, Gupta added.

(With agency inputs)

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Number of blind to come down by 4m as India set to change blindness definition - Hindustan Times

Before I start criticizing anyone, let me start with this: I appreciate any Republican who stands up to criticize this sorry excuse for a president. Two such anti-Trump Republicans are the NYTs Ross Douthat and David Brooks. My appreciation for their efforts notwithstanding, they both managed to mangle the same topic in recent columnsAmerican national identity.

In a piece titled Who Are We? Douthat put the back of his hand to his forehead (just do it and youll see what I mean) and lamented that liberalism has crafted a narrative of the American story too focused on oppression, one that ignores the traditionally understood elementsthe heroic founders-and-settlers narrative of which it once consisted. He recognizes that that traditional story stopped making as much sense and that we needed to correct it. Douthats no extremist on this, hes not running around waving a red #MAGA cap. He says we need a unifying story that includes both heroism and the truth about what befell blacks and Indians and others in order to bury Trumpism (as opposed to just beating Trump). Clearly, Douthat supports that goal, so I take his call as a sincere one.

Similarly, just this week, David Brooks called for the revival of something weve lost, namely our unifying American story. This, he says, is the Exodus story, a narrative that unites us around a common multigenerational project, that gives an overarching sense of meaning and purpose to our history. He cited Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Reinhold Niebuhr and Langston Hughes (America never was America to me/And yet I swear this oath/America will be!) as all having embraced this narrative.

Brooks blamed the loss of our common story on radical secularists [who] expunged biblical categories and patriotic celebrations from schools, and closed by calling out for somebody who can tell us what our goal is, and offer an ideal vision of what the country and the world should be. Like Douthat, he also wants to bury Trumpism, and slammed the jingoistic chauvinists who measure Americanness by blood and want to create a Fortress America keeping the enemy out. Good on him.

Heres the thing, gentlemen. Both of you have just described the exact narrative of our history and our national identity that Barack Obama has spent the last dozen years preaching on the national stage.

First, lets talk about the individuals Brooks cited. President Obamas approach bears the strong influence of Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, and Brooks knows it. In fact, he wrote two different opinion pieces about the influence of Niebuhr on Obama (here, and here). For what its worth, Douthat wrote one too. On the other people cited, Ive written extensively about the influence of Rev. King on Obama.

More broadly, Obama has repeatedly offered precisely the unifying story Douthat and Brooks assert our country needs, one that includes both the traditional heroes from the older narrative Douthat says appeals to many, as well as figures representing a much broader cast of characters, i.e., those excluded from the older narrative, and who are pretty heroic as well. The 44th president wove all their stories into a single history of a diverse, yet unified people working to realize the ideals laid out at the founding. Obamas story of America is, in fact, just what Brooks called for: a progressively realized grand narrative.

To the chagrin of some, Obamas Americarightly, in my viewrejects both the whitewashed narrative that was predominant in the 1950s and the overwhelmingly negative vision Brooks criticized, one steeped in American tales of genocide, slavery, oppression and segregation. To be sure, no one could be elected president running around talking about America in such a negative. Furthermore, anyone demanding that a progressive candidate must do so in order to earn their vote is only helping elect candidates who espouse the opposite understanding of America. Obamas narrative describes our progress as uneven, yes, but nonetheless moving toward the goal we as a people set for ourselves.

Of dozens of examples in which Obama lays out his conception of American history and national identity, here are a few that span his time on the national stage. From his 2006 book The Audacity of Hope, heres one that offers a unifying narrative paralleling what Brooks says we need:

On the night he won the 2008 Iowa caucuses:

From the first day of his second term:

In his eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney, one of the nine African Americans murdered by a white supremacist in a Charleston, South Carolina, church:

And from his farewell address:

Maybe the blindness of writers like Douthat and Brooks isnt blindness at all, but instead strategy. Maybe they feel like theyll lose their ability to reach anti-Trump Republicans if they acknowledge that Obama has already done what they are calling for someone to do. Part of me can understand that thinking. But another part of me says that the strategic value of a Republican saying: if its a choice between Trumpism and Obamaism, Ill take Obamaism would be far better. Plus, just tell the damn truth if you know what Obama has been doing.

Giving Obama credit for putting forth a balanced, inclusive conception of national identity wouldnt mean endorsing the whole of the Democratic policy platform. Even on the national narrative itself, if Douthat and/or Brooks want to say that Obama hasnt been effective enough in selling the vision he (and they) have described, thats a point we can debate as well. But if they honestly believe that he hasnt been putting that vision out there time and again for years, well, then they just havent been listening.

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The Blindness Of Anti-Trump Republicans - Huffington Post

Phoenix, Ariz., Mar 29, 2017 / 11:01 am (National Catholic Register).- When a Phoenix mother lost her eyesight due to a rare medical condition, she feared she would never be able to see her four children again. But then St. Charbel came to her aid.

Dafne Gutierrez suffered from benign intracranial hypertension (BIH), a condition that causes increased pressure in the brain. In 2012, the increased pressure caused her to lose vision in her right eye. Three years later, in November 2015, the Catholic mother lost sight in her left eye, as well.

Phoenixs local CBS affiliate, KPHO, quoted Gutierrezs plea to God:

For me, I was like, Please God, let me see those faces again. Let me be their mother again. Because I feel like [my kids] were watching me, taking care of me 24/7.

For more than a year, Gutierrez struggled to adjust to her disability, which now included occasional seizures, as well as blindness. Then, in January 2016, when Phoenixs St. Joseph Maronite Church announced that the relics of St. Charbel Makhlouf (also spelled Sharbel) would be visiting the church, Gutierrezs sister encouraged her to visit and to pray for the saints intercession.

Although she is not a member of the Maronite rite, Gutierrez visited the church Jan. 16, prayed before the relics, went to confession and was blessed with holy oil by the pastor, Father Wissam Akiki. Gutierrez recalled that, immediately afterward, her body felt different.

The following morning, she rose and returned to the church for Sunday Mass. Again, she experienced a different sensation.

And early in the morning Jan. 18, Gutierrez awoke with a searing pain in her eyes. She remembers how much they burned. And when her husband turned on the lights, she said the brightness hurt her eyes. She claimed, at 4 a.m., that she could see shadows; but her husband insisted that was impossible because she was blind. He later described what he called an odor of burned meat coming from her nostrils.

According to The Maronite Voice, the newsletter of the Maronite Eparchies of the U.S., That morning she called her ophthalmologist, and she was evaluated the next day. Her exam showed that she was still legally blind, with abnormal optic nerves. Two days later, she saw a different ophthalmologist, and her vision was a perfect 20/20, with completely normal optic nerves. Subsequently, she saw her original ophthalmologist one week later, and her vision was documented to be normal, with completely normal exam.

No Medical Explanation

Dr. Anne Borik, a board-certified internal medicine physician who later testified regarding Gutierrezs healing, was called in by the Church to review the case. Earlier this month, Borik a member of St. Timothys Roman Catholic parish nearby, but who attends St. Joseph Maronite frequently talked by phone with the Register about her findings. She explained that the brain condition Gutierrez suffered from causes the optic nerve to constrict. Once the optic disc the spot at which the optic nerve enters the eyeball is damaged, its too late to fix. Because, when the pressure in the brain reaches high levels, as it did in Gutierrezs case, the optic nerves become strangulated.

Unfortunately, once the blindness occurs, said Borik, its irreversible.

Images of Gutierrezs optic disc revealed significant damage: We have pictures, said Borik, to confirm that the optic disc was chronically atrophied. There was significant swelling, or papilledema.

But after Gutierrezs vision returned, Borik reported, there was no evidence of the aberrations that were evident on earlier images. In the post-healing pictures, Borik said, her optic disc is back to normal. Her vision is completely restored. She has no more seizures. That is why I, as a medical doctor, have no explanation.

A medical committee, led by Borik, undertook a thorough review of Gutierrezs medical records, as well as repeated examinations. The committee wrote, After a thorough physical exam, extensive literature search and review of all medical records, we have no medical explanation and therefore believe this to be a miraculous healing through the intercession of St. Charbel.

Unexpected Healing Strengthens Faith

Borik is enthusiastic about the healing, telling the National Catholic Register, It has changed my practice! It has changed how I relate to patients. Now, she said, referring to her relationship with those entrusted to her care, prayer is such an important part of what we do.

Father Wissam Akiki, pastor of St. Joseph Maronite Church, had a devotion to St. Charbel, and he installed a large picture of the saint in the parish shortly after his arrival in 2014. Then, in 2016, he arranged to bring St. Charbels relics to his parish as part of a U.S. tour.

Father Akiki remembers when Gutierrez showed up to venerate the relics. Father Akiki approached her. I heard her confession, he told the National Catholic Register. We prayed together, and I said to her daughter, Take care of your mom, and your mom is going to see you soon. Then, in only three days, she called the church to report that she could see.

Father Akiki acknowledged that Gutierrezs healing has strengthened the faith and changed the face of St. Joseph Maronite Church. People are coming here to pray, traveling from Germany, Bolivia, Canada, Australia, Jerusalem.

Following the healing, Father Akiki planned to erect a shrine to St. Charbel at his parish, with a two-ton sculpture of the saint cut from a single stone and imported from Lebanon. The shrine will be open seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Father Akiki expected that the dedication of the shrine March 26 would draw crowds, including Maronite Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted and many local dignitaries.

Bishop Zaidan attributed Gutierrezs recovery to the intercession of St. Charbel. May this healing of the sight of Dafne, he wrote in The Maronite Voice, be an inspiration for all of us to seek the spiritual sight, in order to recognize the will of God in our lives and to act accordingly.

Cristofer Pereyra, director of the Hispanic Office of the Phoenix Diocese, told Fox News that Bishop Olmsted spoke with the doctors and reviewed the case. The bishop wanted to make sure there was no scientific explanation for the miraculous recovery of Dafnes sight, Pereyra reported.

The greatest change, of course, has been for Gutierrez and her children. Since her eyesight was restored, Dafnes life has changed dramatically: She can once again check her children's homework, watch them at play with friends, and manage her household chores without extra assistance.

Her prayer was answered.

Who Was St. Charbel?

Born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf in the high mountains of northern Lebanon in 1828, St. Charbel (also spelled Sharbel) was the youngest of five children in a poor but religious family. His baptismal name was Joseph; only when he entered a monastery at the age of 23 was he given the name Charbel, after an early martyr. He studied in seminary and was ordained a priest in 1858. For 16 years, Father Charbel lived with his brother priests; theirs was a communal life of prayer and devotion to God.

In 1875, Father Charbel was granted permission to live a hermits life. In his rugged cabin, for the next 23 years, he practiced mortification and sacrifice often wearing a hair shirt, sleeping on the ground, and eating only one meal a day. The Eucharist was the focus of his life. The holy priest celebrated daily Mass at 11 a.m., spending the morning in preparation and the rest of the day in thanksgiving.

Father Charbel was 70 years old when he suffered a seizure while celebrating Mass. A priest assisting him was forced to pry the Eucharist out of his rigid hands. He never regained consciousness; and eight days later, on Christmas Eve in 1898, Father Charbel died. His body was interred in the ground without a coffin and without embalming, according to the monks custom, dressed in the full habit of the order.

For the next 45 nights, a most unusual event occurred: According to many local townspeople, an extraordinarily bright light appeared above his tomb, lighting the night sky. Finally, after the mysterious light persisted, officials at the monastery petitioned the ecclesiastical authorities for permission to exhume Charbels body. When the grave was opened four months after Charbels death, his body was found to be incorrupt. Twenty-eight years after his death, in 1928, and again in 1950, the grave was reopened, and his body was also found to be without decay.

Numerous medical researchers were permitted to examine the remains, and all confirmed that the saints body was preserved from decay. For 67 years, the body remained intact, even when left outdoors unprotected for an entire summer although it consistently gave off a liquid that had the odor of blood. Finally, though, Charbels body followed the natural course. When the tomb was again opened at the time of his beatification in 1965, it was found to be decayed, except for the skeleton, which was deep red in color.

The inexplicable restoration of Dafne Gutierrezs eyesight is not the first healing credited to St. Charbel. Dr. Anne Borik reported that there have been hundreds perhaps thousands of miracles attributed to the saint.

Pope Francis is said to have a deep devotion to St. Charbel. Last Christmas, Borik reported, the Holy Father asked to have a relic of St. Charbel sewn into the hem of his vestments.

This story was originally published at the National Catholic Register.

Link:
Phoenix mother: St. Charbel cured my blindness :: Catholic News ... - Catholic News Agency

Robin Frape and Julie Binnigton are setting off on an epic walk to raise awareness of RP blindness. Picture by Chris Cornford.

TWO hikers are going to be setting off on the trek of a lifetime on Friday to raise awareness for RP blindness, a degenerative eye condition that affects the retina.

Robin Frape, 48, and Julie Binnington, 50, of St Thomas Street, Ryde, are setting off on a walk that will take them all over the world.

Robin has retinitis pigmentosa (RP) blindness and the couple plan to walk indefinitely until his vision degenerates to a point where he can no longer continue.

"I want to create as many visual memories as I can, while I still have my vision," said Robin, who was forced to retire early from his job as a hydrographic surveyor.

Robin's peripheral vision has diminished and his central vision has been severely damaged. He is legally blind in his right eye and has many distorted spots in his left.

They will start by walking out their front door in Ryde on Friday and will walk around the Isle of Wight, cross over to Lymington, walk the length of the UK, cross over to Northern Ireland, trek down to the South of Ireland then fly over to mainland Europe and keep going.

"We are going to cover as many countries as we can. There is no set end date, we are just going to keep going," Julie said.

The adventure is all in order to raise awareness and support for RP blindness, a condition that many people know very little about.

The condition is almost always passed on genetically and affects different people in different ways, including the severity and rate of degeneration.

They are raising money for RP Fighting Blindness. Anyone can donate at http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/walking-terra-firma and follow their progress on Facebook at Walking Terra Firma for Blindness RP.

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Isle of Wight man facing blindness plans to walk the world to make memories and raise awareness - Isle of Wight County Press

Retinopathy is any damage to the retina of the eyes, which may cause vision impairment.[1] Retinopathy often refers to retinal vascular disease, or damage to the retina caused by abnormal blood flow.[2]Age-related macular degeneration is technically included under the umbrella term retinopathy but is often discussed as a separate entity. Retinopathy, or retinal vascular disease, can be broadly categorized into proliferative and non-proliferative types. Frequently, retinopathy is an ocular manifestation of systemic disease as seen in diabetes or hypertension.[3] Diabetes is the most common cause of retinopathy in the U.S. as of 2008[4]Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working-aged people.[5] It accounts for about 5% of blindness worldwide and is designated a priority eye disease by the World Health Organization.[6]

The two most common causes of retinopathy include diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity. Diabetic retinopathy affects about 5 million people and retinopathy of prematurity affect about 50,000 premature infants each year worldwide.[6][7]Hypertensive retinopathy is the next most common cause affecting anywhere from 3 to 14% of all non-diabetic adults.[8]

The development of retinopathy can be broken down into proliferative and non-proliferative types. Both types cause disease by altering the normal blood flow to the retina through different mechanisms. The retina is supplied by small vessel branches from the central retinal artery.[9] Proliferative retinopathy refers to damaged caused by abnormal blood vessel growth.[10] Normally, angiogenesis is a natural part of tissue growth and formation. When there is an unusually high or fast rate of angiogenesis, there is an overgrowth of blood vessels called neovascularization. In the non-proliferative type, abnormal blood flow to the retina occurs due to direct damage or compromise of the blood vessels themselves. Many causes of retinopathy may cause both proliferative and non-proliferative types, though some causes are more associated one type.

Non-proliferative retinopathy is often caused by direct damage or remodeling of the small blood vessels supplying the retina.[9] Many common causes of non-proliferative damage include hypertensive retinopathy, Retinopathy of prematurity, Radiation retinopathy, solar retinopathy, and retinopathy associated with Sickle cell disease.

There are three main mechanisms of damage in non-proliferative retinopathy: blood vessel damage or remodeling, direct retinal damage, or occlusion of the blood vessels. The first mechanism is indirect damage by altering the blood vessels that supply the retina. In the case of hypertension, high pressures in the system causes the walls of the artery to thicken, which effectively reduces the amount of blood flow to the retina.[9] This reduction in flow causes tissue ischemia leading to damage. Atherosclerosis, or hardening and narrowing of blood vessels, also reduces flow to the retina. The second mechanism is direct damage to the retina usually caused by free radicals that causes oxidative damage to the retina itself.[11] Radiation, solar retinopathy, and retinopathy of prematurity fall under this category. The third common mechanism is occlusion of blood flow. This can be caused by either physically blocking the vessels of the retinal artery branches or causing the arteries to narrow.[2] Again, the end result is reduced blood flow to the retina causing tissue damage. Sickle cell disease compromises blood flow by causing blood to sludge, or thicken and flow slowly, through the retinal arteries. Other disorders that cause hyperviscosity syndrome may also cause blood sludging. Lastly, clots or central artery thrombosis directly blocks flow to the retina causing the cells to die.

Proliferative retinopathy is the result of aberrant blood flow to the retina due to blood vessel overgrowth, or neovascularization. These pathologically overgrown blood vessels are often fragile, weak, and ineffective at perfusing the retinal tissues.[12] These weak, fragile vessels are also often leaky, allowing fluids, protein, and other debris to leech out into the retina. They are also prone to hemorrhage due to their poor strength. This makes proliferative types of retinopathy more risky since vessel hemorrhaging often leads to vision loss and blindness.[13] Many of the causes mentioned in non-proliferative retinopathy may also cause proliferative retinopathy at later stages. Angiogenesis and neovascularization tend to be a later manifestation of non-proliferative retinopathy. Many types of non-proliferative retinopathies result in tissue ischemia or direct retinal damage. The body responds by trying to increase blood flow to damaged retinal tissues.[14]Diabetes mellitus, which causes diabetic retinopathy, is the most common cause of proliferative retinopathy in the world.[15]

Genetic mutations are rare causes of certain retinopathies and are usually X-linked including NDP family of genes causing Norrie Disease, FEVR, and Coats disease among others. There is emerging evidence that there may be a genetic predisposition in patients who develop retinopathy of prematurity and diabetic retinopathy.[16][17] Trauma, especially to the head, and several diseases may cause Purtscher's retinopathy.

Retinopathy is diagnosed by an ophthalmologist or an optometrist during eye examination. Stereoscopic fundus photography is the gold standard for the diagnosis of retinopathy. Dilated fundoscopy, or direct visualization of the fundus, has been shown to be effective as well.[18]

Many patients often do not have symptoms until very late in their disease course. Patients often become symptomatic when there is irreversible damage.[19] Symptoms are usually not painful and can include:

Treatment is based on the cause of the retinopathy and may include laser therapy to the retina. Laser photocoagulation therapy has been the standard treatment for many types of retinopathy. Evidence show that laser therapy is generally safe and improves visual symptoms in sickle cell and diabetic retinopathy.[20][21] In recent years targeting the pathway controlling vessel growth or angiogenesis has been promising. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) seems to play a vital role in promoting neovascularization. Using anti-VEGF drugs (antibodies to sequester the growth factor), research have shown significant reduction in the extent of vessel outgrowth. Evidence supports the use of anti-VEGF antibodies, such as bevacizumab or pegaptanib, seems to improve outcomes when used in conjunction with laser therapy to treat retinopathy of prematurity.[22] The evidence is poorer for treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Use of anti-VEGF drugs did not appear to improve outcomes when compared to standard laser therapy for diabetic retinopathy.[23]

Telemedicine programs are available that allow primary care clinics to take images using specially designed retinal imaging equipment which can then be shared electronically with specialists at other locations for review.[24] In 2009, Community Health Center, Inc. implemented a telemedicine retinal screening program for low-income patients with diabetes as part of those patients annual visits at the Federally Qualified Health Center.[25]

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Retinopathy - Wikipedia

By Sola Ogundipe

The Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria in collaboration with Pfizer Specialities and Glaucoma Society of Nigeria held a walk from the National Stadium to Ojuelegba in Lagos early on Saturday March 18, 2017 to sensitise members of the public about Glaucoma, the 2nd leading cause of blindness worldwide and in Nigeria.

It was the climax of the week-long series of activities aimed at creating awareness about glaucoma, in commemoration of the 2017 World Glaucoma Week with the theme Beat Invisible Glaucoma. Over 70 million people suffer glaucoma worldwide with 10 million already blind.

Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Head, Glaucoma Services and Acting Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine,/Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Adeola Onakoya, called on all Nigerians, especially those aged 30 and above to go for regular eye screening to detect and treat eye problems, particularly glaucoma, early.

We are walking for glaucoma essentially to sensitise people to the disease. Our T-shirts are adorned with the message Get your eyes tested for glaucoma, so that people would know that there is an eye disease called glaucoma. Studies show that only 5 per cent of Nigerians know about glaucoma and it is among those that are being treated for the disorder.

The message is that you should get your eyes tested so you do not go needlessly blind from glaucoma. It is asymptomatic and life-long. If untreated, the possibility of blindness is very high, Onakoya cautioned.

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Regular eye tests prevent blindness from glaucoma, says Onakoya ... - Vanguard

The government is set to change a four-decade-old definition of blindness to bring it in line with the WHO criteria and ensure the Indian data on blindness meets the global estimates.

As defined under the National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB), a person unable to count fingers from a distance of six metres is categorised as "blind" in India, against the WHO's stipulation of three metres.Promila Gupta, NPCB Deputy Director General said,

We will bring the definition of blindness at par with the WHO's criteria. Because of the current definition, we project a higher figure of blind people from India at any international forum. Thus India gets presented in a poor light compared to other countries.

Also, she said, the data "we generate under the programme cannot be compared with the global estimates as other countries are following the WHO criteria".

Uniformity in the definition across various regions of the world is a pre-requisite for facilitating collection of population-based data on prevalence of blindness and estimating its global burden, Gupta said. Further, India has to achieve the goal set by WHO, which recommends reducing the blindness prevalence of the country to 0.3 percent of the total population by 2020.

Praveen Vashist, in-charge, Community Ophthalmology at Dr R P Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences at AIIMS said,

The Vision 2020 recommends reducing the prevalence of blindness to 0.3 per cent by the year 2020 to achieve the elimination of avoidable blindness. It will be extremely difficult to achieve the WHO goal using the NPCB definition since we will be addressing an extra four million individuals, blind due to refractive errors. By adopting the blindness criteria of WHO, India can achieve the goal.

The Health Ministry is also planning to change the nomenclature of NPCB to the National Programme for Control of Visual Impairment and Blindness.

The idea is to further strengthen the programme by focussing not only on the blind persons but also those with some kind of visual impairment. It urges the member states to strengthen national efforts to prevent avoidable visual impairment through better integration of eye health into national eye health plans and service delivery," Gupta added.

She said India currently has around 12 million blind people against 39 million globally-- which makes India home to one-third of the world's blind population. The current definition of blindness was adopted at the time of the inception of the NPCB in 1976.

The probable reason for keeping six meters as cut-off for defining blindness in India was to include economic blindness cases which referred to a level of blindness which prevents an individual to earn his or her wages. In contrast, the WHO definition adopts a criteria for blindness that is which hampers the routine social interaction of a person (social blindness), Gupta said.

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India changes four-decade-old definition of blindness to meet WHO criteria - YourStory.com

March 27, 2017 8:47 PM By Stephanie Stahl

PHILADELPHIA (CBS)Changing the perception of blindness is the mission of a Bucks County mother who has two blind children.

And for her efforts, Kristin Smedley is being honored.

She has been invited to speak at a prestigious event called Risk Takers, Change Makers.

Kristin fits both of those descriptions and the title of her talk is How I Learned To See Through The Eyes Of My Sons.

Her sons Mitchell and Michael are blind but that hasnt held them back very much.

It doesnt stop the Bucks County brothers from playing a round of air hockey.

Theyve learned to play not by watching the puck but by listening for it.

Sight is not what should hold anyone back, its just a minor inconvenience, says Mitchell.

Mitchell is 13 years old and his big brother is 17 years old.

They were both born with a rare inherited eye disease called Leber congenital amaurosis or LCA.

Having 2 blind kids, initially that was the most devastating news, said Kristin.

But that devastation turned into amazement for Kristin as she learned how well her boys could adapt and even excel.

Michael is an accomplished musician and is involved with school productions.

Sometimes at school they look at me and say, Wait, youre the blind kid running the lights yeah and you send the blind kid on the cat walk, says Michael. So theres nothing you cant do.

The stuff they can do is unbelievable, says Kristin.

Shes writing a book called Thriving Blind and has a big following on Facebook helping other families with blind children.

Kristin started a foundation called Curing Retinal Blindness that raises money for research.

Shes organizing a fundraiser and is putting the finishing touches on the presentation shes been invited to give at a TEDx event which highlights innovative ideas.

Its like that dream come true moment, says Kristin.

TED stands for technology, entertainment and design.

Shes excited to share her message of conquering fear and understanding that blindness can be powerful.

She says those are lessons she learned from her sons.

Their brains work at a higher level than ours too. she said. Because my son Michael will say, youre so distracted, you sighted people are all distracted by the stuff you see, focus mom focus, its amazing.

The boys are enrolled in regular classes at school.

They use a Braille notepad and have big plans for a future that include college and big careers.

For Michael and Mitch, being blind isnt much of a consideration.

I really dont think its that big of an issue, says Mitch.

Kristins TEDx speech is March 30 in New York City.

Invitations to speak at TEDx are very selective and prestigious and the event will be giving Kristins message a big international forum.

Stephanie Stahl, CBS 3 and The CW Philly 57s Emmy Award-winning health reporter, is featured daily on Eyewitness News. As one of the television industrys most respected medical reporters, Stephanie has been recognized by community and he...

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Bucks County Mother On A Mission To Change The Perception Of Blindness - CBS Philly