StemCell Therapy

With the kind of varieties that seafood offers, it is a favourite among foodies, especially fish, which is perceived as a delicacy around the world. But, a certain fish has been found with a chemical that scientists say can become a medical breakthrough related to curing human blindness. The chemical resides in the brains of zebra fish that helps reveal how it regrows its retina, a finding that can potentially cure blindness in humans. The findings showed that the levels of GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter, best known for its role of calming nervous activity drop when the unique self repair process kicks in. Thus, blocking the chemical (GABA) could lead to new treatments for AMD (age related macular degeneration), the most common cause of blindness and and retinitis pigmentosa. The structure of the retinas (the light sensing tissue at the back of the eye) of fish and mammals are basically the same and a reduction in GABA might be the trigger for retinal regeneration, the researchers said. "Our theory is that a drop in GABA concentration is the trigger for regeneration," said James Patton, Professor at Vanderbilt University, in Tennessee, US. "If we are correct, then it might be possible to stimulate human retinas to repair themselves by treating them with a GABA inhibitor," Patton added. In the study, when the scientists injected drugs that kept GABA concentrations in the retinas of newly blinded fish at a high level, they found it suppressed the regeneration process. After injecting an enzyme that lowers GABA levels in normal fish, they found that the Muller glia (retinal cells) began changing and proliferating, the first stage in the regeneration process. The Muller glia (which in fish play a key role in regeneration) is a special type of adult stem cell. When regeneration is triggered in zebrafish, the Muller glia begins proliferating and then differentiating into replacements for the damaged nerve cells.

More:
Eyes of Zebra fish may help unveil cure for human blindness, say scientists! - Kasmir Monitor

Past city planner pens memoir to help others with impairment

By Rich Lopez jrlopez@mrt.com

Walter Ashby

Walter Ashby

Blindness is not an obstacle for former Midlander

Although Walter Ashby wasnt born in Midland, he quickly accepted it as his home. The then-smaller city was his springboard into his thriving career and a happy family. With his wife, Gail, and their two daughters, Ashby served as a senior city planner for the city, as vice president of First National Bank and as president of the citys Special Education Advisory Board.

In his new book Impaired But Empowered: A Memoir of Faith, Fortitude and Fortune, Ashby, who now lives in McKinney, recounts his life growing up legally blind but also embracing and empowering himself.

MRT: What made you decide to tell your story?

Ashby: I decided to write this long ago. Ive worked on it at different times. It was ready to go back in 1992 and accepted by a publisher but that company collapsed. I had lost my manuscript for a long time. My daughter Beth urged me to get it back out a couple of years ago.

MRT: Did the timing then and now change anything for you?

Ashby: I did come back to my story with more wisdom. This allowed me to tell my experiences not only in school but in my career and also the issues I dealt with. The principle was to be helpful to other impaired children and families of impaired children.

MRT: Your book starts in Mineral Wells where you were born, but your chapters on Midland read fondly of the city.

Ashby: I really liked Midland. Im quite drawn to it. I think it was Gods providence that took me there to carve out a nice career. A lot of things about Midland appealed to me.

MRT: Your wife was a big reason you came here.

Ashby: She had a job waiting for her, yes.

MRT: You thrived as an adult but as a child, you werent immediately thought of as an exceptional student.

Ashby: In grade school my eyesight was terrible from onset in early childhood. I was awful at spelling, I had terrible writing and both are characteristics of a poor student. Limitations were projected onto me. It wasnt until my sophomore English teacher saw something in me. I carried this idea that I was a stupid kid but she saw more.

MRT: You finished and left Texas A&M and came to Midland in 1971. You then found quite a lot of success.

Ashby: I became the senior city planner shortly after. As planner, I implemented aerial photographs of impacted areas, upgraded the zoning process and worked on maps and materials for city council to make better decisions. I also contributed significantly to the update of the city master plan. I think that was very worthwhile.

MRT: Not only in civic and business, but you also served on the nonprofit side.

Ashby: I served on the board of the Recording Library of West Texas for years. They produce recorded materials for free so I was also a user of their services. Im also a big advocate. Being able to drop off material and have it read for you is a wonderful thing. You cant do that in a lot of other places.

MRT: Do you miss Midland?

Ashby: I left kicking and screaming. West Texas people are so friendly, and it really afforded much in the way of culture. Midland is relatively small, but look at the community theater, the symphony the airport -- the quality is so much better than what youd expect. .

MRT: Beyond your life story, what else do you want this book to say?

Ashby: I really want families dealing with disabilities to understand the situation. Your assessment of your child is most important. I want them to have the self-confidence to advocate for their children and encourage their education. Most people grossly underestimate children with impairments. Im saying to those families -- dont let them.

For more information about Ashby and his book Impaired, But Empowered, visit walterashby.com. His book also is available on amazon.com.

Go here to see the original:
Blindness is not an obstacle for former Midlander - Midland Reporter ... - Midland Reporter-Telegram

New Delhi: With the kind of varieties that seafood offers, it is a favourite among foodies, especially fish, which is perceived as a delicacy around the world.

But, a certain fish has been found with a chemical that scientists say can become a medical breakthrough related to curing human blindness.

The chemical resides in the brains of zebra fish that helps reveal how it regrows its retina, a finding that can potentially cure blindness in humans.

The findings showed that the levels of GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter, best known for its role of calming nervous activity drop when the unique self repair process kicks in.

Thus, blocking the chemical (GABA) could lead to new treatments for AMD (age related macular degeneration), the most common cause of blindness and and retinitis pigmentosa.

The structure of the retinas (the light sensing tissue at the back of the eye) of fish and mammals are basically the same and a reduction in GABA might be the trigger for retinal regeneration, the researchers said.

"Our theory is that a drop in GABA concentration is the trigger for regeneration," said James Patton, Professor at Vanderbilt University, in Tennessee, US.

"If we are correct, then it might be possible to stimulate human retinas to repair themselves by treating them with a GABA inhibitor," Patton added.

In the study, when the scientists injected drugs that kept GABA concentrations in the retinas of newly blinded fish at a high level, they found it suppressed the regeneration process.

After injecting an enzyme that lowers GABA levels in normal fish, they found that the Muller glia (retinal cells) began changing and proliferating, the first stage in the regeneration process.

The Muller glia (which in fish play a key role in regeneration) is a special type of adult stem cell.

When regeneration is triggered in zebrafish, the Muller glia begins proliferating and then differentiating into replacements for the damaged nerve cells.

(With IANS inputs)

Read the rest here:
Eyes of Zebra fish may help unveil cure for human blindness, say ... - Zee News

Media Release 10 March 2017

One Million Kiwis at Risk: Eye Exams Crucial to Fighting Blindness in NZs Ageing Population

New research released ahead of World Glaucoma Week (12 18 March, 2017)

Despite growing awareness of debilitating eye conditions, a quarter of New Zealanders are still not having regular eye exams according to latest research from Specsavers, putting their eyesight at risk.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in New Zealand and in time for World Glaucoma Week, the leading optometry provider is calling on all Kiwis, particularly those aged over 45, to book an eye exam.

Latest research[1] shows despite high awareness of eye conditions, more than one million Kiwis over the age of 18 havent had an eye exam in the past two years, putting them at risk of developing preventable eye conditions such as sight-damaging glaucoma.

About 91,000 New Zealanders [2] over the age of 40 suffer from glaucoma. On top of this, due to the lack of noticeable symptoms when glaucoma is in its early stages, half of all New Zealanders living with glaucoma dont know they have it. That means there is a very real possibility these people will be left with irreversible blindness if they dont have eye exams to detect the disease, says Glaucoma New Zealand Executive Manager, Helen Mawn.

Taking the countrys ageing population into consideration, Specsavers New Lynn Optometrist, Philip Walsh, says regular eye exams every two years are crucial to ensure the eye health of all New Zealanders.

With over one million New Zealanders not having regular eye exams, its important to educate about the dangers of sight-threatening eye conditions such as glaucoma and urge New Zealanders to have their eyes tested regularly, not just to prevent vision loss in the ever-increasing elderly population, but also to build good health habits that will last across generations, says Philip.

Glaucoma is hereditary, so if your parents or grandparents were diagnosed, your chances of having glaucoma are a lot higher. The plus side is that if glaucoma is detected early, it can be treated and your sight can be saved. Also in every eye exam at Specsavers, we use the latest eye testing technology to detect eye problems, including Digital Retinal Photography which takes a photo of the back of the eye, helping to track any changes in your eye health over time.

World Glaucoma Week runs from March 12th 18th, 2017.

To book an eye exam at your local Specsavers store, visit http://www.specsavers.co.nz .

[1] Independent research by Perceptive, commissioned by Specsavers which captured 1,000 responses of New Zealanders aged over 18 years old in February 2017 [2] Ministry of Health/Healthline 2014

ends

Scoop Media

Excerpt from:
Eye Exams Crucial to Fighting Blindness in Ageing Population - Scoop.co.nz

Last updated17:27, March 13 2017

Michael Bradley

The MasterFoods ads appealed to Cas Carter's parental guilt.

In the last two years they have had six companies go into liquidation and the liquidators' reports for these companies show deficits of over $16 million. How often do you notice advertisements in a day?

Between ad blocker, ad free radio and recorded television, I've been doing my best to avoid them.

That, as well as a natural phenomenon called ad blindness - a coping mechanism where consumers naturally block out the over 5000 advertisements we are said to be exposed to daily.

SUPPLIED

Business columnist Cas Carter.

The brain is a fascinating thing. We can be blind to almost all those ads every day, until we need to see them.

READ MORE: *How weather affects the way we spend - Cas Carter *Cas Carter: Sleeping gadgets that claim to work

For example, I hadn't seen an ad for paint in years, until my house needed painting and thenDuluxandResenemagically appeared.

Those messages were always there just waiting for me to need them.

So why then did the Masterfoods ad 'Make Dinnertime Matter' jump out at me?

Because it got me right between the guilty parent eyes.

The ad that has just been re-released asks couples who they would like to have dinner with. They discuss celebrities from Mandela to Bieber but are then shocked to see how their young children reply to the same question.

The kids just want to have dinner with their family.

The ad was originally released alongside an Australian survey that showed our trans-Tasman neighbours recognised the benefits of dinnertime.

Seventy eight per cent said a home-cooked dinner with family delivers more emotional connection than a hug.

This ad went viral. Even the ad agency creatives said it changed their own behaviour and made them go home for family dinners.

For years we've probably been ignoring Masterfoods "Why cook when you can create" product ads.

What marketers like those at Masterfoods, are realising more and more is that to cut through all the advertising clutter they need to make it matter.

Instead of focusing on the food they're highlighting the rituals and emotion around breaking bread together that we are losing like sitting around the table chatting, instead of looking at screens.

They're showing that who you eat with is as important or more important than the meal itself.

It plays right into the issues we all face being time poor and having more distractions than ever before.

But it also evokes parental guilt and asks 'are we denying our kids the rituals we had when we were young?'

It shows that the next generation has the same values we grew up with, or wished we'd grown up with.

The 'Make Dinner Time Matter' ad has since been cited as one of the top 10 most inspirational ads, because it changed the way some people looked at the world.

Ads might be annoying but they have the potential to change our thinking. And if more took on some of societal issues, our natural ad blockers might start to fail.

Advertising can play a huge role in shaping society the images and messages we're constantly consuming shape how we view ourselves and what we aspire to.

We know ads can promote unhealthy behaviour: childhood obesity, underage smoking and drinking, not to mention over thin models and eating disorders.

But just as easily, they can have a powerful influence on us while still marketing their products.

There's no reason why for-profit and for-good can't overlap, and the billions of dollars of advertising spend each year can't also invest in positive change.

We all hate being marketed too and millennials even more so. Perhaps it's time for advertisers to 'Make Commercial Breaks Matter.'

The Masterfoods 'Make Dinner Time Matter,' campaign will run in Australia and New Zealand across TV and online channels throughout 2017.

I wonder if you'll notice it?

Cas Carter is a marketing and communications specialist.

-Stuff

Read the original here:
Cas Carter: Do you suffer from ad blindness? - Stuff.co.nz

Jusuf Nurkic got his likeness pasted to the side of the Moda Center this week. Ask any Trail Blazer fan or anyone in the organization, and theyll tell you hes earned it. In the short time Nurkic has been on the team hes breathed new life into the Blazers. He is extremely happy to be here, and it shows on and off the court.

Friday night I was able to use my powers of deception and infiltrate the Daimler Family Night at the Moda Center. Daimler being one of the biggest sponsors for the Blazers organization, they get one night a year where their employees and their families have free reign over the arena. Along with being able to take shots on the court, tour the locker room, and have all the licorice rope their sugar crazed offspring can handle, employees get four Trail Blazers players that show up to sign autographs and shake some hands. This year it was Jake Layman, CJ McCollum, Evan Turner, and the Bosnian Beast himself. Nurkic had nothing but bright eyes and smiles for the hundreds of people that lined up for autographs.

One attendee had a video for Nurkic on her phone from a Bosnian woman she works with. In the video, the woman spoke in Bosnian, and told Nurkic how excited and proud she was that he was on the team. Clearly touched by the video, Nurkic made his own video response for the woman in Bosnian. His gratitude seems like it will never run out. Ideally his dominance on the court wont either.

Ok, Ive swooned enough.

Last night the Blazers took on the Washington Wizards. The Wizards, who were sitting nicely in the eastern conference with a 40-24 record, couldve given the Blazers a heap of trouble. Their back court duo Bradley Beal and John Wall have a cool 23.2 and 22.8 points per game average between them. Wall also dishes out 10.9 assists per game, making him quite the offensive force. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were certainly gonna have their hands full trying to cinch up the Wizards offense.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the opposing team's offense the Blazers had to worry about. After a valiant effort in regulation, it was a controversial, missed out of bonds call, and a jumper from the Wizards' Markieff Morris that cost the Blazers the win in overtime.

The Wizards came out quick and took an early lead. The Blazers did their best to chip away at it. Dame took control and bombed in a couple of his patented long balls, giving the home team the lead. They were able to hold it through the rest of the first quarter.

McCollum led the second quarter off with two buttery, baseline jump shots from either side of the key, a feather-touched floater in the paint, and two threes from the top of the key. The Blazers kept feeding him and he kept ringing the bell. He ended up scoring 17 points in the second. CJ was feeling it, but the Wizards were not. They spent the first three minutes of the quarter with their palms turned up complaining about a string of fouls and turnovers. The momentum they had in the first quarter flatlined, and the Blazers lead reached double digits.

Wall started to push back with a few sprints through the paint and foul shots. He knocked the Blazers two digit lead down to one in three minutes. But, it was not to be. The Blazers bit back hard and brought their lead up to 21 before their halftime dismount.

To start the second half, steam was still shooting off of CJs finger tips. He brought his already impressive point total up to 30 within the first two minutes. Anytime the Wizards tried to take control, the Blazers would jerk the chain and say no dice.

The Wizards saved most of their energy for the fourth and came out in a fury. Half way through the period the Wizards knocked the Blazers lead down to one. Before they had time to celebrate, Dame and CJ dropped two consecutive threes, and Dame fed Nurkic for a devastating dunk. The crowd erupted.

But, Wall and Beal werent having it. They came in like a pair of fire hoses and doused the Blazers fire. They dug in and drained two consecutive threes, and brought their lead up to four with less than two minutes left.

With 23 seconds left in the game, the score was tied and the Wizards had possession. Wall brought the ball up slow. The suspense was palpable. He juked Allen Crabbe off his feet, and took an easy, wide open jumper from the free throw line. Miraculously, it clanged off, and the Blazers were looking at another overtime battle.

Al Farouq Aminu came out with a big three to open the extra period. Otto Porter answered. Dame took a top of the key jumper. Beal answered right back with an identical attempt. Dame tried to keep the Blazers in the game, scoring almost all of the Blazers points in the overtime period.

With less than 20 seconds left in the game the Blazers were up by one and the Wizards had possession. Markieff Morris stepped back, then side stepped his defender and dropped a two point shot leaving 0.4 on clock. It looked like the game was ending with heartbreak. Then the replay hit the Jumbo-tron. When Morris stepped back to ditch his defender, he stepped out of bounds. The crowd went berserk. Multiple Blazers bum rushed the officials to try and figure out what could be done.

For some reason that even the players had trouble figuring out in the locker room post game, the call was not reviewed. The Wizards stole the win.

Rule books were consulted and theories were thrown around by members of the press while we waited for coach Terry Stotts to emerge for his post game press conference. When he finally entered the room you could feel the tension spike.

When asked whether hed be in favor of referees being given discretionary power late in games to review outcome deciding plays, despite the rule book, Stotts snapped back.

Id be in favor of them getting it right in the first place. When two referees are looking at the play, and neither one of them see him step out of bounds? In a game like this you cant miss that call.Were in a play-off race. We cant afford those mistakes.

Dame had some choice words in the locker room as well.

They said we cant review it. I guess thats the rules, but why do we have all these cameras and all this technology in the arena if were not gonna be able to review a play that determines a win or a loss?

Being the leader that he is, Dame brought it back to inspiration and fighting the good fight.

Its a tough loss, but we gotta move forward. We got a game tomorrow. Its tough to deal with these kind of losses but the beauty of it is we got another one tomorrow.

Read this article:
Blazers Recap: Wizards Cast Blindness Spell On Officials, Blazers Lose In Overtime 125-124 - The Portland Mercury (blog)

The Hindu

Early treatment of glaucoma can prevent blindness, says expert ... The Hindu An estimated 1.3 crore people in the 30-60 age group are affected from glaucoma in India and of them 15.4 lakh have become blind. Unfortunately, unlike ... Free eye check-ups to mark Glaucoma Week - Khaleej TimesKhaleej Times all 4 news articles »

See the rest here:
Early treatment of glaucoma can prevent blindness, says expert ... - The Hindu

Study on fish reveals key to cure blindness The Hindu Scientists have discovered a chemical in the zebra fish brain that helps reveal how it regrows its retina, a finding that can potentially cure blindness in humans. The findings showed that the levels of GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid), a ...

More here:
Study on fish reveals key to cure blindness - The Hindu

1

AIIMS doctors have finally announced that India is free from trachoma.

2

Trachoma common in children till 9 years is an eye infection that leads to blindness.

3

It is caused by the bacterial agent chlamydia trachomatis and usually spread due to flies, poor hygiene, crowded places, lack of water.

Battling trachoma among children for several decades now, doctors from AIIMS have finally announced that the country is free from the eye infection that often leads to blindness.

Trachoma is common in children till nine years of age. It is caused by the bacterial agent chlamydia trachomatis and usually spread due to flies, poor hygiene, crowded places, lack of water, and environmental factors such as humid conditions. Improper disposable of garbage also adds to the spread of the disease.

On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Science, (Prof) Dr Atul Kumar, chief and professor of ophthalmology at AIIMS, told Mail Today, "In a major achievement, ophthalmic experts from RP Centre visited high risk states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Nicobar Islands, and conducted mass treatment programmes among children."

Also read: AIIMS opens separate counter to handle VIP cases

The national three-year survey was in collaboration with the Union health ministry. "The World Health Organisation (WHO) plans to eradicate the disease by 2020, but our team has done it by 2017. AIIMS is soon going to submit is report to the ministry," Kumar said.

Dr Praveen Vashist, professor and head of community ophthalmology, who was part of the survey team, told Mail Today, "In1950, the prevalence of the disease was very high in Northwest India. About 50-80 per cent children were diagnosed with infection, following which the then Union health ministry started the National Trachoma Control Programme."

In 1971-74, the first major survey was conducted by ICMR, which found the disease still prevalent and a major cause of blindness among children. The second major survey was conducted in 1986-89, the results of which turned out to be positive. It found only 10-15 per cent children contracted the disease.

Also read: AIIMS initiates follow-up action on enquiry report on death of Nursing Officer Rajbir Kaur

"In, 2006-07, we did a rapid assessment survey (RAS) in six States and found that prevalence of the disease was reducing, but it still existed for which we could not declare a trachoma-free India," said an AIIMS doctor.

"In the most recent national survey that was done over three years, our aim was to eradicate the disease among children and treat adults. We found nearly 50 per cent tribals in Nicobar at high risk of contracting the disease. So we recommended mass treatment to the entire population of the island. Tribals were trained to follow good hygiene in their daily lives," Vashist said.

Read the original here:
AIIMS doctors announce India free from eye infection causing ... - India Today

March 10, 2017 7:19 PM

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) Glaucoma is a common, serious eye condition that left untreated can lead to blindness, and its not just a problem for older people.

As CBS2s Dr. Max Gomez explained, a tiny new device is helping to save peoples eyesight.

Lori Karavolis, a 49-year-old nurse and mother of four, was in danger of losing her eyesight.

She has a family history of glaucoma, so she would have the pressure inside her eyes checked regularly, suddenly she got bad news.

Sky high actually, almost a dangerous level, she said. Will I go blind?

One way glaucoma develops is when fluid in the eye doesnt drain normally through tiny mesh-like channels.

Its peripheral vision loss, almost as a tunnel vision, as it gets to be more advanced. And then ultimately it can be full vision loss, Dr. Jennifer Davis explained.

Drops and laser surgery are treatment options, but those channels can close up again.

Now, theres a tiny implanted device called the I-stent that acts as a kind of drain for the excessive fluid.

Its a one millimeter titanium tube thats put in the drainage channels of the eye.

Weve seen a huge improvement in intraocular pressure after surgery, Dr. Davis said, There patients continue to be on fewer drops or no drops, and thats really the idea.

Its meant for people with mild to moderate glaucoma, but its only implanted in people who are also having cataract surgery.

Its not painful at all, and youre back to work or your life the next day, Karavolis said, Im doing great. I dont have to have drops, and just the daily thought of not having that increased pressure.

The I-stent was FDA approved in 2012, but its only recently that its been in widespread use.

Health insurance companies and commercial insurers have been covering it.

The vision lost to glaucoma doesnt come back. Thats why regular eye exams are important, to catch and treat glaucoma before it causes vision loss.

See original here:
New Implanted Device Could Save Eyesight In People Battling Glaucoma - CBS New York

Therapeutic target for diabetes-related blindness: Study reveals ... Science Daily Specific cells in the retina trigger inflammation and vision impairment associated with diabetes, according to new research. and more »

See the original post:
Therapeutic target for diabetes-related blindness: Study reveals ... - Science Daily

(Press Release) Dr. David Khorram, Marianas Eye Institutes co-founder, travelled on behalf of the Saipan eye clinic to Ghana, in Africa, to provide needed cataract surgery.

Dr. Khorram was accompanied by his 16-year-old son, Arman, who also participated as a volunteer in the project. The duo were Global Impact Fellows with the non-profit organization, Unite for Sight, based out of New Haven, Connecticut. Global Impact Fellows undergo extensive training on providing care in rural and under-served areas. The training was a refresher of sorts for me, said Dr. Khorram, who has significant experience as a volunteer eye surgeon is such settings. However, it was all new for Arman, and it prepared him well for the time we spent in the villages in Ghana.

Large scale village cataract screening

On the ground in Ghana, the Khorrams were joined by three other volunteers, all university students, who had come to spend some weeks in Ghana as part of the Unite for Sight team. The team members, accompanied by staff from the Crystal Eye Clinic in Accra, the capital of Ghana, traveled each day to outlying villages and conducted large scale community screening campaigns to identify those with vision problems. In addition, the team members, including those from the Saipan eye clinic, gathered statistics to be used in research to improve care in the region. They saw up to 200 patients per day. The screenings were done in partnership with local village organizations who announced days ahead of time that we were arriving, Khorram explained. Because of the absence of hospitals and health centers, we used local schools or community centers to perform the exams. The university volunteers and Arman checked vision, while those of us with medical training, conducted the formal eye exams.

Cataract surgery in Ghana different than Saipan

On some days while the team members were in the outlying villages, Dr. Khorram joined local ophthalmologists from the Crystal Eye Clinic to help clear the backlog of cataract surgery. There are a limited number of ophthalmologists in the country, said Khorram. Not enough to serve the population. So volunteer ophthalmologists are needed to perform cataract surgery. Dr. Khorram explained that while cataract surgery is the most common eye surgery performed on Saipan, the surgery is a much different technique than the one used in Ghana. At Marianas Eye Institute, we use the most advanced techniques for cataract surgery, which requires expensive high-tech equipment. In most places in the world, this equipment is too expensive, so we use a technique that has been especially developed for these settings, the Saipan eye clinic surgeon explained.

Cataract and diabetes

Cataract is the worlds leading cause of reversible blindness, affecting some 20 million people globally. Cataracts are also the leading cause of vision loss in Saipan. The World Health Organization has identified cataracts as a priority eye disease. It is also a priority at Marianas Eye Institute. Cataracts is a clouding of the natural lens inside the eye, which causes blurred vision. It occurs most commonly with aging, and with diabetes. Because Marianas Eye Institute is the major center for treatment of diabetic eye disease on Saipan, we also treat a lot of cataracts. Cataract surgery, with todays modern technique of phacoemulsification, can be performed in under 20 minutes, and the same day, the patient can see again, explained Russ Quinn, the Saipan eye clinics CEO. Dr. Dennis Williams, a renown ophthalmologist who is listed in Best Eye Doctors in America, performs the high-tech cataract surgery on Saipan, while Dr. Khorram now spends most of his professional time as an international volunteer eye surgeon.

Marianas Eye patients contribute

The trip to Ghana was a truly memorable experience, said Dr. Khorram. Like Saipan, the people were kind and appreciative, and full of laughter. Arman and I felt right at home there, he said. Marianas Eye Institute continues to support efforts to combat blindness and suffering. While our priority for eye care will always be Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, we feel a responsibility to help those beyond the shores of the Mariana Islands, said Quinn. Its great to participate in these projects, and everyone who is a patient at Marianas Eye Institute, helps make our support to the global fight against blindness possible, so we thank you all, he said.

Marianas Eye Institute is known as a regional leader in eye care, providing total eye care for the family, including express glasses, contact lenses, medical eye care, surgery and laser. Marianas Eye Institute is staffed by Dr. Dennis Williams, who has been listed in Americas Top Ophthalmologists, and Dr. Mark Robertson, a magna cum laude graduate, along with eight other highly talented and nationally certified eye care technicians, opticians, and contact lens technicians.

Located on Beach Road in Garapan, across 13 Fishermen Monument, Marianas Eye Institute is open Monday through Saturday and accepts new patients as well as walk-ins. Anyone interested in supporting the Saipan eye clinics global outreach program can call 235-9090.

Read the original post:
Saipan eye clinic combats cataract blindness in Africa - Marianas Variety

The partial blinding of six young men over the weekend during protests in Tral has underlined the continued use of pellet guns in Kashmir despite criticism, calls for ban and even assurances from security forces.

The six were injured on Sunday when security forces fired pellets at protesters who were allegedly trying to hamper a counter-insurgency operation in Tral in which two militants and a policeman were killed.

A senior ophthalmologist at Srinagars SMHS hospital where they are admitted told HT that the injuries were bad and the patients would have to undergo at least two rounds of surgeries before ascertaining whether vision will be restored or not.

Read more

Hospital figures show that more than 6,000 people have suffered pellet wounds with at least 1,100 eyes injuries in the unrest that began on July 8, 2016, after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

The use of the non-lethal weapon in Kashmir drew international condemnation by rights groups and called for restraint including an appeal by home minister Rajnath Singh. The minister urged the youth not to engage in stone-pelting and also asked security forces to refrain from using pellet guns against protesters.

Amnesty International in its annual report described pellet guns as inherently inaccurate and indiscriminate.

As an alternative measure, the CRPF proposed the use of a modified version of pellet guns with a deflector. The new design would ensure that gunshots are directed at the lower body, saving the face and eyes of stone-pelting protesters.

In February, CRPFs Srinagar-based IG Ravideep Sahi told HT that the force had nearly 800 pellet guns and deflectors would be installed by the end of March or early April. We have tested the deflector and it was found satisfactory, Sahi said.

Read more

Last month, the eyes of two teenaged boys were partially damaged when security forces used pellets to disperse a mob in Kulgam during an encounter. But while victims grapple with their blindness, the personnel on the ground say without pellets it would be very difficult to tackle to the violent stone-pelting mob.

Its very simple. If pellets are not used, then bullets will be used which will take lives, said a CRPF officer on the condition of anonymity.

The officer, who has been at the forefront of stone-pelting protesters many times, said: The motive of the mob here is to lynch us and snatch our weapons unlike in any other agitation elsewhere in the country. To keep them at bay, you need something which causes minimum bodily harm, not fatal.

The protesters, he added, are immune to crowd-control measures like tear-gas and rubber bullets. If pellets are not used, and the protesters feel there is no restricting force then the situation on the ground deteriorates further.

A recent report by a national daily stated that 5,000-odd pump-action guns and six lakh pellet cartridges would be issued to the CRPF in Jammu and Kashmir.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah had reacted on Twitter to the news of increased number of pellet guns in Kashmir: So much for the assurance that pellet guns would be used in rarest of rare cases.

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Sahi said every situation on the ground had a graduated response and pellet guns were fired only if the situation took a very dangerous turn.

He added that pellets were fired after issuing necessary warning to and firing tear-smoke shells at the protesters.

Asked about mitigating the effects of pellets, director general of state police, SP Vaid, outlined a four-point suggestion.

First, it should not be used as a first resort but as a last one, short of opening fire. Second, the weapon should be used only by an officers order, said Vaid.

He also said the weapon should not be fired from close range (which often leads to fatalities) and that the police and CRPF should start using the modified pellet guns fitted with new deflectors as soon as possible.

Original post:
Six youth face partial blindness: Why Kashmir's pellet woes are far ... - Hindustan Times

Eudalie Wickham-Ashby. (Pictures by Xtra Photography.)

During March, the Month Of The Disabled, the Wednesday Woman column will focus on people with disabilities.

EUDALIE Wickham-Ashby has very low vision but defies long odds to live a full life.

She works with the Ministry of Social Care helping people living in poverty to sort out documents that are important for daily living, volunteers with the Barbados National Organisation of the Disabled (BARNOD) and is a wife, mother and grandmother.

She does all that even though she has retinitis pigmentosa, familiarly known as night blindness, an inherited condition of the retina that leads to a gradual progressive reduction in vision.

She started noticing the symptoms when she was about 12 years old.

What I have found is that a lot of black persons in the Caribbean have the condition, Wickham-Ashby said.

Mine started when while I was at school. I would notice that when I moved from the sunlight into the classroom or hall I would take an unusually long time for my eyes to adjust. I also had difficulty seeing at night.

Over time her condition worsened and whereas before she could see faces and the finer details, now she just sees an outline of someones head. The person would have to come very close for her to make out anything else.

I am still able to walk the streets, take the bus and do a lot of the basic functions, she said.

Wickham-Ashby works with the ministrys ISEE (Identification, Stabilisation, Enablement and Empowerment) Bridge programme which helps poor and vulnerable persons to work through seven pillars listed as obtaining personal identification, human resource development, health conditions, family dynamics, employment, income and social benefits. Each individual has minimum conditions to obtain, such as getting a birth certificate, national identification card or NIS card.

A friend of mine told me about the ISEE Bridge programme and I did the training and I attended the one-week training back in 2014 and then in 2015 they were seeking persons to work with the ISEE Bridge programme here and I submitted my curriculum vitae and was called up for an interview, Wickham-Ashby said.

Grandchildren Jattarri (left), Jevid and Jaheim Wickham (in arms) with their grandmother Eudalie Wickham-Ashby.

Going into the interview I had a lot of ambivalent feelings, she acknowledged, adding that some questions focused on how she would be able to perform her duties with a visual impairment.

I highlighted that every day I live doing some of the basic tasks and functions that any person has to do so where I am not physically able to see something I am able to use my other senses particularly my sense of hearing and intuition.

I think going into the interview I was able to let them see that, yes, there will be some challenges but there is alwaysa way around it.

She said her two years in the job have been fantastic.

A lot of people underestimate the significance of a person working and earning their own income, she said. It is not just about the finances yes, that is important, but the whole interaction with colleagues and having some worth. You are really respected and people take your information and realise that it is not nonsense, that you are knowledgeable unlike what some people think about the disabled that once you have a disability you are stupid.

Being able to contribute to the development of my country is something that I value.

When she was fresh out of school, Wickham-Ashby said she initially wanted to be a journalist but was dissuaded from pursuing those studies. That advice later angered her, especially when hearing disability rights activist Carson Small on the radio.

It was Small who first invited her to a BARNOD meeting in 1989 and she has been involved ever since, even serving the organisation as its president.

The fire started burning because when I attended that meeting I realised that I have been very fortunate to have attended the regular schools, but when I listened to the experiences of persons who were younger than me sharing how their parents held them back because they have a disability and how persons within the educational system treated them, I knew I had to work with advocating around disability issues, she said.

Wickham-Ashby expects greater opportunities in the future and one of her big hopes is for self-driving cars to reach the market so she can buy or hire one.

Read more:
WEDNESDAY WOMAN: Night blindness no barrier - Nation News

The Parents Association belonging to a Dungiven Primary School have issued a grave warning on how dog excrement can lead to blindness.

The warning by St Canice PS Dungiven Parents Association comes after a number of young children arrived to school with dog excrement on their shoes over the past week.

The association, took to social media to post this message calling for dog owners to clean up after their dog.

The footpaths leading to, from and around the area of our school are full of dog dirt resulting in a number of children coming to school this week with dog dirt on their shoes, not only is this disgusting but it is also very dangerous especially for our younger children who are too young to know not to touch their shoes if they are covered in dog dirt.

The message continued: Toxocariasis can cause serious illness, and can even lead to blindness. It is caused by a parasite, known as Toxocara Canis, also commonly referred to as Roundworm. The Toxocara Canis parasite lives in dogs digestive systems, and so dogs act as hosts for the parasite.

For the safety of our/your children please clean up after your dog!

The issue of dog fouling along on the Curragh Road, Dungiven, close to both St Canice Primary School and St Patricks College, has been an ongoing issue for some time.

In the past local councillor, Sean McGlinchey has called on the dog owners to clean up after their dog but last night he told the County Derry that it was now down to the local community as his previous warnings had been a waste of time.

He said: Dog fouling is an issue that is a major problem right across the Borough, it came up at council meeting last week.

In the past I have called on dog owners to clean up after their dogs but for some owners, it has been a complete waste of time. They have ignored the communitys concerns. I believe that it is now down to the local community to report the dog owners responsible. If members of the local community want to give me the information privately, I can pass it on to council to try and get the matter resolved.

Over the past few weeks, I have had parents come to me to complain about dog fouling outside our local schools and our play park and rightly so. It is an absolute disgrace and something needs to be done, said Mr McGlinchey.

The Sinn Fin mad added: If anyone has information on dog owners who are responsible for not cleaning up their dogs mess, please contact me on my mobile 07889352489.

If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Derry Now editorial team on 028 7129 6600 for Derry City stories Or 028 7774 3970 for County Derry stories. Or you can email [emailprotected] at any time.

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County Derry Parents' Association warn of blindness as dog fouling continues - Derry Now

Fighting blindness: Scientists bring a key protein into focus ... Science Daily Scientists have discovered how a protein called ?2?4 establishes proper vision. To study how this protein supports vision, the researchers modeled retinal ... and more »

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Fighting blindness: Scientists bring a key protein into focus ... - Science Daily

Oak Ridge scientists said 29 million people suffer from diabetes, but half of them don't get eye exams to test for potential blindness from the disease.

As Local 8 News Anchor Lauren Davis found out, Oak Ridge National Lab has created a program that will detect just that.

Ken Tobin, the Director for Reactors and Nuclear Systems Division at Oak Ridge National Lab said, "If you catch blindness early, you can save sight in your eyes for a longer period of time than if you wait for the symptoms."

It's called diabetic retinopathy, which causes diabetic patients to lose their sight. Ken Tobin said, "By detecting it early, you can make corrections early and can save sight years. It also saves money and does a lot of good things."

Thanks to the Hubble Telemedical, created here in East Tennessee at ORNL, blindness from the disease could be prevented. The cameras have been placed in doctor's offices around the nation. The hope with the system was to make them more accessible.

"I think long term, you walk into Walmart and just like an arm cuff for blood pressure screening there will be a retinal exam to detect blindness," Tobin said.

The system helps diabetes patients, but it can also help with seniors who are susceptible to macular degeneration.

"It's a very successful program," Tobin said. "It only took seven years to go from an idea from one field of use into the medical environment, and it's helping a lot of people today. That's the most exciting part of the whole thing."

Dr. Ken Tobin with ORNL partnered with Dr. Edward Chaum with University of Tennessee Health Science Center to create the program.

View original post here:
ORNL, UTHSC develop program that could prevent blindness from diabetes - WVLT

By Jane Brody

In letters to The Times, blind readers reacted with heartfelt reassurance and practical guidance to Edward Hoaglands essay, Feeling My Way Into Blindness, published in November.

Stanley F. Wainapel, clinical director of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, admitted that adapting to vision loss is a major challenge. But he disputed Hoaglands allusion to enforced passivity, pointing out that many advances in technology from screen-reading software for computers to portable devices that read menus or printed letters with a delay of only seconds can keep productivity, creativity and pleasure very much alive for people who can no longer see.

Rabbi Michael Levy, president of Yad HaChazakah, the Jewish Disability Empowerment Center, also acknowledged that transition to a world without sight is far from easy. But he insisted, Blindness does not cut me off from the world. He cited skillful use of a cane, travel devices that tell him where he is and what is around him and periodicals available in real time by telephone among myriad other gadgets that see for him.

Annika Ariel, a blind student double-majoring in English and political science at Amherst College, wrote that her problems are not with her blindness but rather from peoples attitudes that depict the blind as helpless and dependent. She said she travels independently, uses assistive technologies to complete her work as efficiently as others who can see, and excels academically and socially.

Equally inspiring was the response of Mark Riccobono, president of the National Federation of the Blind, who became legally blind at age 5 and lost all useful vision to glaucoma at 14.

I once let blindness make me a passenger in my own life, he wrote. That changed when I encountered a vast network of other blind people who convinced me that blindness did not define me, who taught me nonvisual ways to handle everyday and not-so-everyday tasks, and encouraged me to expect more of myself.

I am now a successful blind man married to a blind woman, living a rich, full life with her and our three children while heading a membership organization that helps tens of thousands of blind people. He met his wife, who was born blind, when they were both students at the University of Wisconsin.

Riccobono, 40, said that he grew up trying to hide his blindness until he met people at the federation who taught him that it was respectable to be blind and that he could do things as effectively as sighted people do.

Ive taught many blind people to use a chain saw, he told me, noting that many activities that we assume require vision really dont.

A screen-reading computer program called Jaws enables Riccobono to read whats on the screen, type and send email using synthesized speech. With the KNFB Reader app on his smartphone, three clicks on the home button turns it into a reading machine that takes pictures of text a menu, label, whatever and reads it out to you, he said.

He credited his federation with having built the best news information source out there the NFB Newsline, with access to hundreds of publications, breaking news, weather that delivers information orally by telephone, on a mobile phone, on a computer via a screen reader or in Braille.

He navigates using a long white cane, which he described as one of the most elegant pieces of technology for blind people. I find things with my cane and plunk the image into a mental map of my environment. He also uses the same GPS system available to sighted people.

Riccobono emphasized the importance of being proactive before a progressive disorder destroys vision entirely. Two of his three young children have the same condition that rendered him blind, and while they can still see, they are learning to read both print and Braille.

He advised me to tell my three friends who have varying stages of age-related macular degeneration to start now to learn to use the tools they will need when they can no longer see clearly. It will make their adjustment that much easier, he said.

The American Council for the Blind has an online list of all manner of products that can smooth the way for people with limited or no vision, including information on where to buy them. Products range from voice-activated television remotes and talking calculators to sewing and kitchen aids. There are also products for people with both vision and hearing loss.

Equally important is for sighted individuals to know how to interact effectively with people who are blind or visually impaired. First and foremost, be sure to identify yourself by name (and association, if your name may not immediately ring a bell). Dont assume the person can recognize you by your voice.

Dont channel your remarks through a third person, and speak naturally. Dont restrict your use of words like see or look when they are a logical component of a conversation. And dont raise your voice, unless the person who cant see also cant hear well.

Dont assume. Always ask first if the person needs help, whether that involves crossing a street, finding a building or carrying a package. When providing directions, be specific, using words like on the left or on the next corner.

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Brody: After blindness descends, finding the light - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

An organic retinal implant designed in Italy can stimulate retinal neurons and send signals to the brain, restoring near-normal vision indefinitely to rats with degenerative blindness without causing apparent damage to the rats' eyes. That's the claim of the researchers who developed it, who believe it could potentially lead to treatments for a major cause of blindness in humans. Other researchers, however, are more cautious.

Retinitis pigmentosa describes multiple genetic disorders that cause the photoreceptors on the retina to die. These lead to blindness, even though the other neurons concerned with signal processing and the optic nerve remain functional. There is currently no effective clinical treatment for the condition, but several groups are developing various proposals to effectively replace these lost photoreceptors by stimulating the retinal neurons artificially. While this could one day restore a patient's vision, these approaches face severe difficulties. For example, most of the implants require a power supply, and wiring into the eyeball is extremely tricky. One solution is a photovoltaic cell that generates a voltage using only the incoming light, but this faces two principal problems. First, previous researchers have found the intensity of ambient light insufficient to stimulate the neurons. Secondly, silicon is much stiffer than nervous tissue: "In the long term, [silicon] can induce a reaction by the tissue," says neuroscientist Fabio Benfenati of the Center for Synaptic Neuroscience and Technology in Genoa, leading to encapsulation, [scarring] and things like that."

In the new research, materials scientist Guglielmo Lanzani of the Center for Nano Science and Technology in Milan and colleagues designed a more flexible, organic retinal implant based on a polymer solar cell. They deposited a thin layer of conductive polymer onto a silk-based substrate and covered it with a semiconducting polymer. When the semiconductor absorbs a photon, it creates an electronhole pair called an exciton. The positive holes are drawn into the conducting polymer, whereas the electrons remain in the semiconductor, causing a negative charge.

Surgeons led by ophthalmologist Grazia Pertile of Sacro Cuore Hospital near Verona implanted the devices underneath the retinas of Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats a strain of rats that reliably develop retinitis pigmentosa owing to a genetic mutation also found in some human cases of the disease. They placed the implants such that the semiconducting polymer was in contact with the retinal neurons, so absorption of light would apply a negative voltage to the cells. After 30days, when the swelling from the surgery had completely subsided, Benfenati's group compared the rats' vision with both untreated RCS rats and healthy rats.

They first tested the pupil's contraction in response to light, finding that although it was significantly impaired in untreated RCS rats, it was near normal in rats with the implant. In further tests using an electrode in the primary visual cortex, the researchers showed that implanted rats' light sensitivity and visual acuity was substantially better than that of untreated RCS rats, and positron emission tomography showed that the metabolism of their primary visual cortices was higher. Furthermore, the rats which naturally prefer dark environments avoided light more effectively.

The researchers tested the rats again later, both after 180days and after 300days: they found that, although the quality of the implanted rats' vision declined, it stayed just as good relative to the other rats. "There is a generalized decrease in [the rats'] sight with age," explains Benfenati. The recovery of the rats' vision appears greater than can be explained by simple photovoltaics, so the researchers suspect other effects are involved, although precisely what these are remains unclear.

After dissecting the rats, the researchers tested prostheses removed from their eyes and showed that they worked similarly to prostheses stored in sterile conditions. The researchers are now testing an adapted implant in pig's eyes: "We believe, based on these data, we could probably attempt the first [human] implant...within the next two years," says Benfenati.

"The article is indeed interesting," says ophthalmologist Mark Humayun of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He is impressed by the simplicity of using light to stimulate the implant, although he cautions: "The RCS rat retina is known to be much easier to stimulate. When it comes to a patient with longstanding retinal degeneration, we have found that ambient light intensity is insufficient and it requires intensified light often multiple Suns."

Daniel Palanker of Stanford University, is more sceptical, noting that, in their laboratory tests of the implant, the researchers use light six million times more intense than some light levels to which the rats responded. "This indicates that the visual response has nothing to do with the photovoltaic response of the polymer," he concludes. Instead, he suggests it is probably an unidentified factor (called a trophic factor) that extends the life of degenerating neurons. This is a well-documented effect of a retinal implant (even a non-functional one), and the researchers attempt to rule out this explanation by showing that a silk implant without the photovoltaic coating does not work. Palanker, however, is unconvinced: "Their control implant is much thinner (0.8m) than the real one (30m), and I suspect it could not be implanted as a flat layer," he says, "Therefore it cannot serve as a real control.

The research is described in Nature Materials.

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Organic semiconductor could reverse degenerative blindness - physicsworld.com

PRESIDENT TRUMPS international economic team is still a work in progress, though based on two early top nominations Robert Lighthizer as U.S. trade representative and Peter Navarro to head a new National Trade Council he fully intends to keep the protectionist promises of the campaign trail. Certainly a newly released administration document, The Presidents 2017 Trade Policy Agenda, reflects the influence of Mr.Lighthizer and Mr. Navarro. The six-page statement rehearses once again their critique of U.S. trade policy since the Cold Wars end: Multilateral trade agreements and institutions such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and World Trade Organization have sacrificed American sovereignty, to the ultimate cost of U.S. jobs, especially manufacturing jobs.

Familiar and, indeed, shared by many of Mr.Trumps Democratic opponents though it may be, this narrative is far from an accurate diagnosis. It is true, as the new Trump agenda notes, that manufacturing employment declined, in absolute numbers, between 2000 (the last year before the United States approved Chinas entry to the WTO) and 2016, from 17.2 million to 12.3 million. Whether this decline is 100 percent the fault of the WTO, NAFTA or any other multilateral trade deal, as opposed to automation and other long-term factors not unique to the United States, is another question.

As a new analysis by economic historian Bradford DeLong of the University of California at Berkeley shows, the past two decades of job losses in manufacturing are part of a trend that began after the Korean War. Factory work went from 32 percent of non-farm employment in 1953 to 16 percent in 1990: long before NAFTA or China. For comparisons sake, Mr. DeLong notes that Germany held out by many U.S. trade critics as a paragon of manufacturing employment preservation shed half of its factory jobs between 1970 and 2015.

Obviously, these numbers dont salve the pain, material and psychic, of those who lost out from these sweeping historical processes. They do, however, suggest theres little to be gained by trying to renegotiate existing trade institutions, or to opt out of them selectively, when, say, a WTO ruling does not comport with U.S. interests as the new Trump agenda suggests. To the contrary, DeLong calculates that Chinas accession to the WTO and NAFTA combined cost the U.S. 500,000 net manufacturing jobs, in a workforce of more than 150 million people.

Again, we dont dispute the impact especially on the light industries such as shoes or furniture hardest hit by imports. Nor do we quarrel with the Trump agendas assertion that trade with China has largely failed to induce greater abiding of the law and transparency by that one-party state. Yet the best way to counteract Chinas mercantilism would seem to be by precisely the sort of U.S.-led multilateral cooperation that the Trump administration has rejected, in the form of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The Trump agenda blames past policymakers for turn[ing] a blind eye to unfair trade practices in the pursuit of putative geopolitical advantage. Geopolitics, though, is just another word for shaping the world to serve all U.S. interests, with a minimum of conflict. And the real blindness consists in unilaterally asserting sovereignty and protection without regard to the legitimate interests of other nations, or their capacity for retaliation.

See the article here:
Trump's blindness on trade is all too easy to see - Washington Post