Here we are at the end of another year…or at least I am hoping we are at the end! 2020 has…shall we say…stunk! I mean, England had a hurricane-like thing recently. Whoever heard of England having “hurricanes”? And that is only a minor inconvenience when you compare it to a pandemic, a recession, a record number of hurricanes here, wildfires and, oh yes, a crazy political scene. Getting 2020 in the rearview mirror sounds like an enticing idea.
2020 was supposed to be our year. For obvious reasons 2020 was supposed to be the year we made great strides toward eradicating blindness. Lin has shared with you information on things like End Blindness 2020 and the World Health Organization’s initiative Vision 2020. There were supposed to be amazing things done this year! What happened?!?
Actually, amazing things have happened. Really. I would not lie to you. While we have hit a few snags, great things, amazing things have happened.
Dan Roberts compiles a yearly list of the progress being made. As some of you know, I was tapped to be a “lab rat” in the APL-2 clinical trials a few years back. I am proud to say, “my” study is the first one Roberts mentions in his list of innovations being made…ok, so I have done nothing but ride down there every month and let them put a needle in my eye, but I am still proud!
Although we were shut down for several months due to the pandemic, the delays were not that significant. Both Roberts and I are thinking APL-2 may easily become the first treatment for advanced, dry age-related macular degeneration also known as geographic atrophy. We are both also thinking this Apellis product will be on the market in late 2021.
Roberts also makes mention of other advancements. Port systems for the administration of anti-VEGF are on the near horizon. These would allow the number of eye shots to be reduced significantly in those with wet AMD.
In his summary, Roberts mentions the ever-increasing collaboration of groups and experts around the world. Building on each other’s successes really does allow us to build the proverbial better mousetrap and everything else. While Roberts is speaking of supporting organizations, I would point to the collaboration in science. Did you notice the number of immigrants represented in the development of the COVID-19 vaccines? Speaking of AMD as well as COVID-19, we are truly in this together and will make more progress when we support one another. It is a small world.
Last of all, Roberts refers to the revolutions in artificial intelligence and telecommunication, particularly Telehealth. I would add to his points that my life as a woman with visual impairment has been made much easier by the technological revolution we are experiencing. I expect it to get even better with time.
And keep in mind this is just a small fraction of what is happening in the fight against vision loss. When you look at the research you see a wide range of potential innovations. Regenerative medicine? Gene therapy? Cyborg-sounding things like miniature cameras in eyes? Yep. All being worked on. While I am thinking APL-2 will be the first treatment for dry AMD, you should have no doubt, there are other treatments in development and snapping at its heels, all anticipated to do great things.
So, yes, even given this stinky year nearly behind us, there is hope. And coming up to the fifth anniversary of my diagnosis of legal blindness, I have to say that hope for those of us with vision loss is getting stronger every year. And I assert once again, this is the best time in history to be going blind.
Best wishes for a blessed – and much better! – new year!
Written December 27th, 2020.