This page is going to be another mixed up affair. I don’t have a full page on either of a couple of totally unrelated topics. Hope you don’t mind if I cobble them together.
First thought: I have talked about loving my big people and have not said anything about my little people. Let me correct that. I love my kids!
We may have an exceptionally tolerant and loving group of kids at our school, but I don’t think so. I think kids are just naturally adaptable and loving. It is the nature of the beast.
Anyway, my kids are wonderful. They take my telescopic glasses and CCTV in stride and think they are cool. My disability? Yeah, she doesn’t see well. What else is new? So what? Can we move on now?
The other day I was waiting for my ride, sitting in the office with all my gear. A little girl about seven was waiting for her mother. The little girl asked about my stuff and I first told her I have an ‘old lady’ eye disease. I think I am going to take this little darling home with me! Her response was “you are not an old lady!”
Then I told her I used the equipment to help me so I could continue to work with the kids at school just like I like. Her response? “Thank you”. OMG. I love my kids.
Second topic: Back to stem cells. Lin gave me an investment article. It was dated July, 2016. Mark Collins writing for marketexclusive.com suggested people invest in….drum roll, please….Astellas Pharma!
For those of you who just walked in, this is the company sponsoring one of the stem cell trials I am signed up for. I am thrilled to hear that this company is being touted as a good investment opportunity. It means the company is seen as a moneymaker. And how are they going to make money? By bringing the stem cell treatment to market, that is how!
Collins cautions this is a somewhat long-term investment. It may be two or three years until the product is brought to market, but the financial analysts are very positive about its future.
I am signed up for phase 2 clinical trials. If Collins is accurate in saying they should come to market by 2020, phases 2, 3 and 4 will have to come about in pretty short order. Good.
One more quick note: please remember RPE stem cells may stabilize vision. That means things won’t get worse but they won’t get better either. There is a bigger maybe for restoring some vision. Subjects in phase 1 got a few letters (not lines) on the eye chart back. RPE stem cells do not cure AMD.
Geographic atrophy, aka advanced dry AMD, means I have dead photoreceptors. Dead is dead. No zombies are produced in this procedure. That means it is not a cure. They are working on a cure but it is not expected for at least 10 years.
[For a review of what RPEs and photoreceptors do, see Sue’s page The Science Stuff.]
As always, I often do not know what I am talking about, so please check the stock tip with your broker….but if you make a billion dollars? Remember me! ?
Next: Queen of Denial & Her Friends
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