Tag: stem cells

Beware Snake Oil

Happy Sunday to you! Lin and I have been emailing back and forth. Since I have another glimmer of hope about the clinical trials, we have been talking stem cells.

I am very optimistic about stem cells. I have known from the instant I saw the Wills studies on clinicaltrials.gov that it was the way I would be going.

I have not wavered in nearly a year and a half and I am not wavering now.

That said, do you remember when I talked about the three states of mind? I try very hard to stay in wise mind on this issue. Wise mind is the melding of emotional mind and reasonable mind. Emotional mind fuels but reasonable mind guides.

Going online we have noticed a lot of what I can only call testimonials to amazing new treatments. These popular press articles all talk about one person – that was one, 1, uno – person who has recovered his or her sight due to this miraculous, revolutionary new procedure, whatever it might be. To me, it seems stem cells have become the new snake oil.

OK. Now some of you just got your hackles up. Calm down. Sometimes snake oil worked. Not saying it did not. However, until it was evaluated pretty thoroughly we did not know a great deal about what it was, what it could do including harm, etc. Lots of harm has been done in the name of treatment.

For example? Blood letting. A president no one ever thinks of, Rush, was killed by bloodletting. It was an acceptable practice. I don’t imagine many of you have had blood removed to cure a disease but I am guessing you may know one person who has. Bloodletting is a proven treatment for Polycythemia Vera, a condition in which there are too many red blood cells. A treatment may have a beneficial use. We just need to find out what that use is. And we need to do it scientifically…at least in my not so humble opinion.

I am cautiously optimistic about stem cells. I have an internationally known doctor at an internationally known facility. The two studies I am signed up for are funded by large, reputable corporations. I even have the informed consent documents already!

What about you? First of all, I would like to think I could influence you to only go someplace with the credentials Wills Eye Hospital has. If that is not possible, ask questions and do your homework without committing to anything. Remember desperate people are vulnerable people. Also, even if the people you are dealing with are decent human beings, their theories or procedures could be faulty or simply not right for you.

What questions to ask? The American Speech, Language and Hearing Association – of all places – published a very nice list (with extensive links; gotta love those speech teachers!) in What to Ask When Evaluating Any Procedure, Product or Program. Read this. Take a copy with you and ask the questions. If you don’t get decent answers, turn around and walk out. Use your desperation, fears, hopes as the fuel but let your reasonable mind do the steering. Stay in wise mind on this one, guys.

Lin/Linda here:  Sue wrote this in December, 2016.  Yesterday (March 16, 2017) an article was published in the New England Journal of Medicine about 3 women who became blind after stem cell injections for which they paid $5,000 from an unnamed clinic in Florida.  The news spread fast and articles were published and widely shared by large news organizations (NPR, CNN, the major TV stations ABC, CBS, and NBC and the New York Times), by macular degeneration organizations (The Macular Degeneration Partnership, Macular Degeneration Association and The Macular Society in the UK) and by several professional organizations for those in the field of vision & eye care.

What went wrong?  This article Three people left blind by Florida clinic’s unproven stem cell therapy says it best from what I’ve read:

  • First there is almost no evidence that the fat/blood stem cell combination the clinic used could help repair the photoreceptor cells in the eye that are attacked in macular degeneration.
  • The clinic charged the women $5,000 for the procedure. Usually in FDA-approved trials the clinical trial sponsor will cover the cost of the therapy being tested.
  • Both eyes were injected at the same time. Most clinical trials would only treat one eye at a time and allow up to 30 days between patients to ensure the approach was safe.
  • Even though the treatment was listed on the clinicaltrials.gov website there is no evidence that this was part of a clinical trial, and certainly not one approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which regulates stem cell therapies.

 

Continue reading “Beware Snake Oil”

Opening a Window

I am hoping that when God closes a door he opens a window.

After finding out the researcher I had been dealing with had left, I called the institution and sort of felt I got the bum’s rush: don’t call us; we will call you. Research to start in a few months. Oh, yeah?

Thank goodness I am the persistent sort. (Who? Me?) I was not feeling quite right about the situation and called again today. I talked to a lovely young lady who informed me everything with the stem cell research has sort of fallen apart! ‘Reworking’ the stem cell line apparently did not mean just changing a few small things. It meant changing the entire protocol!

Changing the entire protocol is essentially going back to step 1. The staff needs to be trained in the new standard procedure. Then the research goes back to pre-clinical trials. That means they are back to real rats for lab rats! Clinical trials, those that use rats who stand on two legs, won’t start for over a year, maybe two. Yippee skippee.

Since I know we are all highly responsive and adaptable people, I am sure you would have done what I did. Precisely? Bitch about being given the wrong info and start looking for plan B. Going blind here. We need to move a lot faster than this. What else is available?

Turns out they have a study in progress. It does pay to inquire; doesn’t it? The study is also phase 2. Remember phase 2 is one step above safety and tolerability. That is the stage in which they see if you will survive and, if you do, will anything really weird or harmful happen to you. Stage 2 measures if anything actually happens with the treatment. Is there a discernible effect?

This study uses adult stem cells. There is a nice blurb on the phase 1 trials that Lin found for me. It is through the Macular Degeneration Partnership and is titled Adult Stem Cell Therapy for Dry AMD. The 33 people they used in phase 1 had some very nice results.

I asked the research staff to see if Regillo would refer me for this study. I got my answer less than five minutes later. Either he does not remember me at all and is just collecting warm bodies or I made an impression ?.

Be that as it may be, I got the ‘informed consent’ packet so I can read exactly what the protocol for this study is. Find out what I need to know.

I am hoping things move quickly. I have been waiting for some movement for over a year now and the longer I wait, the worse my vision becomes. You folks know how that goes.

So, hoping for a window to open soon. Even if it’s an attic window. I will find a ladder! Time to get moving on this treatment thing. Continue reading “Opening a Window”

News: July 28-29, 2016

News: July 24-25, 2016

 

News: July 22, 2016

LowVisionMatch.com

Another delay in the research. Astellas is making changes to the stem cell line they are going to be using. That adds at least two months to the wait time. At least. Yippee.

What does ‘changes’ mean? No clue at all. I read a little and it sounds like some changes that can be made are to the culture in which the stem cells are grown. This is done so the cells are better nourished and grow better. It is also possible to ‘massage’ the cells themselves to make them better able to do the job they will be used for. I am not a scientist and I have no idea what they will be doing.

The assumption is they will try to make the cells better, more robust and adaptable. In the long run this is a good thing. In the short run they was frustrating the devil out of me!

Since it is starting to look like these people are going to drag their feet forever, or at least until I am very old and probably very blind, I decided to once again search for alternatives. Lin came up with the website for the Federation for Fighting Blindness. They have a registry for people with retinal disease. Lin did a post on it; maybe you remember [if you don’t just click here].

The registry is sort of a dating site for people with retinal disease to meet eligible researchers. Sort of like Low Vision Match or Blind Mingle: “Attractive, female, wet AMD wanting to meet intelligent researcher who will only have eyes for her. Only those with successful animal trials need apply!” You get the gist.  [Lin/Linda here: to be clear, neither LowVisionMatch.com or BlindMingle.com exist…yet ;)]

I have gotten as far as completing the form and submitting it. Completing the application was not hard but it was long. The main problem was I could not pinch-zoom the screen on my iPad and was stuck with using the zoom feature from the accessibility menu.

I would think if you are asking for information from a visually impaired population you should include pinch-zoom capability in your site. But then, who am I?

I am not expecting to hear about available research any time soon. It would be nice but I am not expecting quick results. I will let you know if I hear from them. I will also let you know if I suddenly start getting ads for eye vitamins and white canes. Tacky, tacky if that should happen.

I will be the guinea pig for this one. If anyone finds a different registry, maybe you could sign up and we can compare notes on them. Who knows? Some of us might end up with matches made in Heaven! Continue reading “LowVisionMatch.com”

News: July 15, 2016

News: July 12, 2016

Caution against ‘stem cell tourism’

 

 

 

News: Stem Cell Clinical Trials in the UK

For Those in the UK

Click here for an article about a UK patient at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London as part of The London Project to Cure Blindness.  Click here for the press release dated September 28, 2015, that describes the ongoing project.  The patients in this study have wet AMD.  This is apparently the first study of its type in the UK.

Click here for more information about the stem cell research trials including 2 videos and a graphic illustration of where the stem cells are implanted.

Want to know more about what stem cells are, where they come from, and how they are used?

For more information about stem cell research, click here to read Sue’s page where I’ve placed quite a few links to helpful articles.  There’s also a link to the clinical trials website for the US.

For more information

News: Stem Cell Treatments – Successes, Concerns, US Legislation

 

Super Lab Rat

So now I am reasonably sure I have a shot at becoming a test subject. Never really believed one of my greatest ambitions in life was going to be to become a lab rat. However, I can assure you I had ambitions to be the best damn lab rat Wills Eye has ever seen. My visual gains will be extraordinary! I will become spokes-rat for the program and travel around the area doing the ‘rubber chicken’ circuit. I will be brilliant. (Did I happen to mention I have no problems generally with my self-esteem? Perhaps…can you spell megalomania?) I even designed my t-shirt. It includes a drawing of a cute little mascot that will, of course, represent the hospital for decades to come.

I will be the best damn lab rat Wills eye has ever seen! I’ll become spokes-rat for the program and travel around the area doing the ‘rubber chicken’ circuit.

I did continue my research. I wanted to know what exactly I was getting into. I’m not one for invasive procedures or even for a lot of ‘doctoring.’ However, assuring vision for myself in the future tended to trump all other considerations.

Although Regillo tended to gloss over some of the more gory and unpleasant details, I wanted to know. My source was the 2015 Lancet article on the Phase 1 experiment.

Let me go off on a tangent here for a moment. Until I got into this, I had no clue what happens in clinical trials. Short tutorial if I may: clinical trials are made up of four phases. The first phase is a safety and tolerability phase. Essentially, the researchers are looking to make sure that nothing serious goes wrong. They want to make sure that no one has an allergic reaction or grows stray body parts where they should not be growing.

In Phase 1 they want to make sure no one has an allergic reaction or grows stray body arts where they should not be growing.

After Phase 1, the efficacy experiment starts. They want to see how their treatment actually works. Does it do what they claim it will do? They also start messing around with different independent variables to see what works best. In the study I am trying to get into, for example, they are comparing different immunosuppressant drugs to see which one works best. In other Phase 2 experiments they compare slightly different operation procedures or any more of the dozen of different treatment variables. All Phase 1 studies use only a very small number of people, Phase 2 studies use many more.

In Phase 2 they want to see how their treatment actually works.

As I understand it, Phase 3 studies are essentially larger variations on Phase 2 studies. Techniques and procedures are refined and the subject pool is made up of hundreds or even thousands of people.

In Phase 3 they perfect the techniques and procedures on more people.

Phase 4 is sort of like an off-Broadway show or traveling company. Instead of just being administered by people at the experimental sites, the procedures are now made available to other professionals to try. Reports are made back to the original team. By this time, the subjects can number in the thousands. Once a procedure gets through Phase 4, it is ready for prime time. If good enough, it can become standard procedure around the globe.

In Phase 4 they make their procedures available to other professionals to try at other locations.

Written February 2016. Updated 2018.

Continue reading “Super Lab Rat”

Where All Roads Lead

So, did I mention that I was told there is no cure? Those of you with wet macular degeneration can be given shots. They actually sound rather disgusting but seem to work. The purpose of the shots is to slow the growth of new veins. This will help reduce the bleeding in the eye.

Dry macular degeneration has no cure. That is, it has no cure yet. Having the personality I have, taking “no” for an answer or taking “I don’t know” for an answer is simply unacceptable. That was why I put so much effort over last summer into finding another way out of this mess.

I don’t take “no” or “I don’t know” for an answer.

Fourth of July, 2015 was a rainy, dismal affair. For some unknown reason I picked that miserable day to throw myself a pity party. I sat imagining what it would be like to be blind. I sat imagining what it would be like to be handicapped and pretty much alone. After about four hours of this, I got bored. Blind was not for me if it was going to be so damn boring. Consequently, I made a decision. I was not going to go blind and if I were to go blind, I would crash and burn in the most spectacular fashion you have ever seen.

If I were to go blind, I would crash and burn in the most spectacular fashion you have ever seen.

It was after this bit of epiphany I started to seek treatment in earnest. My ophthalmologist told me probably the best chance of a cure was in stem cell therapy. However, stem cell therapy on eyes was in its infancy. They had run so few people through the procedure there was no way of knowing for sure what was going to happen.

I was sure of one thing: Age-Related Macular Degeneration results in central blindness. There are no maybes. It will eventually happen. Enrolling in a study would give me a chance. The chance maybe only 1% but it was 1% more chance than I had doing nothing.

AMD results in blindness of the central vision. I was sure of this one thing.

Also, when you hit a certain age, some people like to leave a legacy. One of the developmental psychologists had a name for this stage in life but I don’t remember what it was [Editor’s note: Erik Eriksen] Essentially, this time in my life is one during which I should give back. I should lead those who are younger. I should contribute. This was going to be my chance. Great secondary gain. I wanted to save my damn sight.

I wanted to save my sight but I also wanted to lead those who were younger.

There are sometimes I believe the Universe—capital U–is showing me the way. I would look at eye drops and come back to stem cell research. I would look at oral medication and come back to stem cell research. I would look at laser treatments and, yep, come back to stem cell research. The writing in the stars was pretty obvious. I was going to get into that study one way or another.

The study I chose was a stem cell study replacing dead and worn out RPEs. This particular study is being done on both coasts. At UCLA medical center the lead researcher is Stephen Schwartz. The lead researcher on the East Coast is Carl Regillo.

The lead researcher for the stem cell therapy is in Philadelphia which is a day trip for me.

Never heard of him until I started doing my research. Then I realized the man is a rock star of retinas. Regillo has over 700 publications to his credit. He has been named to the best physicians in America list at least eight years running. But just about the best thing about Regillo? He is practically right in my own backyard! Regillo is a mover and shaker at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.  Philadelphia for me is a day trip. Even better, the good doctor has an office in Bethlehem, perhaps about 2 hours away. Yet better, I got an appointment within three weeks of asking and they took my insurance! So far, it does not get any better than this.

Carl Regillo is at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia & has an office in Bethlehem, perhaps 2 hours away. And I got an appointment within 3 weeks of asking & they took my insurance. So far, it does not get any better than this.

Written in February 2016. Reviewed September 2018.

Continue reading “Where All Roads Lead”

Resources

June 2023 There’s an announcement that since Sue has not written any new journal pages for some time, the site has been archived until we can decide if the work necessary to make sure all information is accurate and up-to-date can be made. In the meantime, you’ll get some pages ‘not found’ or ‘private’ until that decision has been made. The emphasis for several years has been on the Facebook group.

2/14/2022 Because of the rapid and constant growth of our Facebook group, I cannot keep this list updated.  I have a large amount of information available in the Facebook group in Guides which are like chapters in a book or lessons in a course. Plus, in 3 years, the amount of information in the posts and comments is quite substantial. I recommend that you join us there where you can get the information and the support to help you in your journey.  Thanks for understanding. Hope to see you there! Lin/Linda…
I’ve added some pages from that group that might be of interest to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Click here for the list of Frequently Asked Questions from our Facebook group.

AREDS2-based Supplements

There are several pages on the site that explain what AREDS2 means and who the AREDS2-based products are for. Click here to go to a list of articles.

AREDS2-based Supplements With 0 or 25mg of Zinc

Click here for the list.

Navigating

There are a lot of links here.  I’ve set up this page so that when you click on a link (words that are underlined & in blue or green), a NEW tab will open in your browser and this page STAYS WHERE IT IS.  When you are done with the new page you opened, just close it.  You do NOT need to use the back option.  If you click on a link and the new page replaces this one, I’VE MADE A MISTAKE so please let me know by sending me an email at light2sight5153@gmail.com.  Let me know exactly which link or links do not open a new tab or window.

Errors: If you click on a link and you get a ‘page not found’ error, please let me know by sending me an email at light2sight5153@gmail.com.  Let me know exactly which link or links do not open a new tab or window.

Additions: If you have a link you’d like to add, please email at light2sight5153@gmail.com.

Topics-click below to move to a topic

Links We Like

  • Click here for a GREAT resource where you answer some simple questions and you get a customized guide based on your responses
  • Click here for a great glossary
  • Click here for Low Vision Resources: A List of Lists (such as 8 ways to slow AMD, 15 tips for family and friends, etc)
  • Videos
    • Click here for several videos
    • Click here for the UK Macular Society’s Say Hello to Mac
    • Click here for one that uses illustrations and animation (explains how wet AMD progresses and how the injections work)
  • Click here for a description of dry vs. wet AMD (we are not recommending any products in this article)
  • Click here for an article about depression after diagnosis
  • Click here for a very comprehensive page about wet AMD
  • Click here for a very comprehensive page about dry AMD
  • Click here for a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) that answers a long list of questions such as ‘will resting help my eyes?’, ‘Can I see for myself if my retina or macula shows any signs of damage before I have symptoms?’, ‘why don’t new eye glasses help?’, ‘what is meant by degeneration?’, ‘is a macular hole the same as macular degeneration’, ‘I have had dry MD for years. Does this mean I’m going to get wet MD too?’, ‘No one else in my family has MD. Why did I get it?’, ‘can drusen be treated?’, ‘I have changes on the Amsler Grid, does this mean I have MD’, ‘I have Wet MD but my Doctor says there is nothing he can do or no treatment available. Why is this?’
  • Click here for a short introduction to stems cells, what they are and how they can be used.

See what vision is like at the various stages of AMD

Click here to find ways to see simulations of what vision loss due to AMD is like at various stages.

Glossary

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Websites devoted to AMD and Other Forms of Macular Degeneration

listed in no particular order

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Websites containing information about AMD and Other Forms of Macular Degeneration

listed in no particular order

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Support

I’ve not been able to verify if these are kept up to date. Let me know if you find that they are not or if you have one  you’d like to add.

Message Boards including ones from
By postal mail

I don’t know if these are still accurate.

  • Association for Macular Diseases
    210 E. 64th Street
    New York, NY 10021
    (212) 605-3719
    – Offers education and information on macular disease through seminars, newsletters, and a hotline. Offers counseling to patients and their families.
  • Macular Degeneration International
    is now a part of Foundation Fighting Blindness
    Toll Free Helpline 1-800-683-5555
    EMail: MDInfo@blindness.org
    – Provides support for people affected by inherited macular degeneration including Stargardt’s disease.
Start Your Own
  • Vision Support Group-download video presentations  This group provides free information and support through presentations to groups of senior adults affected by macular degeneration and related retinal diseases.  You can join & get access to their materials so you can use them in your own group.
On the phone/telesupport

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Where to find services

  • In the US: click here to find a low vision center, retina specialist, state agency, ophthalmologist
  • In the UK: click here to support services (listed on the right side of the page) such as skills for seeing, counseling, access to treatment…and more
  • In the US: click here to search for a wide variety of services (more than the link above)
  • In Australia: click here to find an ophthalmologist and optometrist
  • Worldwide: click here for resources worldwide

Resources for Students

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Books and reading materials

Specific Titles

Sources of Books

Formats: Braille, large print, e-book and audiobooks

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Videos

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Personal stories of living with AMD

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Online newsletters

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What is AMD?

Wet Form
Dry Form
How fast does AMD progress?
  • A good article about how difficult this is to answer
  • Great video that explains why early detection is important especially when detecting the change from dry AMD to wet

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What is Stargardt’s Disease?

Also called Stargardt’s Disease (SD) or Stargardt Macular Dystrophy (SMD) or Juvenile Macular Degeneration (JMD), it’s an inherited, juvenile macular degeneration. The progressive vision loss associated with Stargardt disease is caused by the death of photoreceptor cells in the central portion of the retina called the macula.

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The Science Stuff

Role of RPEs

Geographic Atrophy

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Symptoms

Charles Bonnet Syndrome/Visual hallucinations

Other problems with vision & AMD

  • problems with visual acuity, photostress, blindspots, color vision, sensitivity to light, depth perception
  • eye problems that have similar symptoms as AMD:

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Risk factors

Age

  • Age is a large factor but can start earlier
  • Much less common are several hereditary forms of macular degeneration, which usually affect children or teenagers. Collectively, they are called Juvenile Macular Degeneration. They include Best’s Disease, Stargardt’s Disease, Sorsby’s Disease and some others.  See Stargard’s Disease section above.

Diet/nutrition (working on this section)

  • diet low in various nutrients & high in others have been linked to AMD.
  • See Nutrition and Vitamins/Supplements under Self-care/self-maintenance below.

Race

Gender

  • AMD more common in women perhaps because women live longer than men

Uncontrolled high blood pressure

Uncontrolled high cholesterol

Smoking

Blue Light

Eye Color

Aspirin & other medications

Other possible causes

  • Biological Process in Wet AMD – some evidence that the photoreceptors are starved by the lack of food (oxygen & nutrients in the blood) and the growth of blood vessels is to compensate for that.

Connection between AMD and Alzheimer’s Disease

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Treatments

  • FDA approved options in the US, injections, implantable telescopes, laser treatment (also outside the US)
Injections for Wet AMD
Telescopic implants
Are there new treatments in the pipeline?
Vitamins (see Self Maintenance/Self Care section below)

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Research/Clinical trials

 

How can I become a part of a clinical trial?

  • A list of sources of information about clinical trials and how to find out for you to participate in.
  • You can search for clinical trials from the links above
  • There are registries where you sign up and enter information about the status of your eyes.  Researchers will use this information to find people that match their research and contact you.  Click here for more information about these registries in the US and elsewhere

Gene Therapy

Bionic Eye/Retinal Implants

  • What is a bionic eye?  It’s also called retinal implant or retinal prosthesis.   Implant is put in retina, camera worn by person sends image to implant which stimulates optic nerve
  • Click here for overview of retinal implants including videos of how it works & interviews with people who have them.
  • March 21, 2016 UK Bionic eye being tested
  • Here’s an article about one being developed at Carnegie Mellon institute in Pittsburgh, PA.

Nutritional Supplements

  • See Vitamins/Supplements section below.

Stem Cells

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Coping with low vision

Low Vision Aids

Wearable Technology

  • coming soon!

Suppliers of low vision aids

Financial Help

Sunglasses

Lamps

Transportation

  • A website for the US where you enter your zip code and transportation options for your area will be shown.

Bioptic Driving

Depression

Checking vision

Amsler Grid

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Self maintenance/self care

Low vision rehabilitation

Vitamins/Supplements

Nutrition

Exercise/Activity

 

More to come, you can check out these posts now

Video: Overview of Assistive Technology for People with Low Vision

Highlight: How do I use Zoom for Apple products?

Highlight: What about Apple’s accessibility features?

News: Top 10 Low Vision Aids for AMD

 

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Home

Research

Not being one to be told there’s nothing I can do about something, I went back to my research. There seem to be a couple of different avenues of research. They were working on lasers to blast the drusen, aka piles of eye-poop but it looked to me like a hoarder intervention. Somebody comes in and cleans up the mess one time. Problem solved for now but not later. They would have a clean place to live but would eventually start to become messy again. The second thing I found looked more like the Merry Maids that were cleaning up regularly. However, it did not solve the problem of who is going to feed the Master photoreceptors? The third option was to essentially put the RPE Servants that were left on steroids. The live ones would work harder but would that not mean they wear out more quickly?

There’s research focused on cleaning up the ‘eye-poop’ called drusen.

There was one I liked, OCATA, originally known as Advanced Cell Therapy (ACT) , that was trying to replace RPEs. They were actually giving the little guys some help in order to save the Master photoreceptors. The way they were doing this was with stem cells.

There’s research using stem cells to replace the RPEs.

Although some people see stem cell research as cutting up dead babies, this is not the case. There are several lines of stem cells that have been derived from fertilized eggs that were never implanted. Some of these lines of stem cells are 20 years old. They have been massaged and manipulated so that there would never be the possibility that they could become functioning human beings. If they were not being used for research they would be flushed down the proverbial toilet.

Stem cells can be harvested from old fertilized eggs not dead babies.

The research that interested me–and still interests me–involves stem cells that have been developed specifically to become RPE cells. The theory is that replacing RPE cells with new ones and giving the little Servant guys some help will allow more photoreceptors to live and turn light into sight.

So where, pray tell, does one find someone to do this procedure? The problem is that this is very new research. It has worked on rats and other traditional lab animals (and you college psychology students, I am not speaking of sophomores). However, work on human subjects is just beginning. At the time of this writing, hospitals in Florida, Massachusetts, California and Pennsylvania as well as in foreign locales such as London and China have only completed phase 1 research. Phase 1 of any clinical study is the safety and tolerability portion. [Lin/Linda: it’s 2018 & some of these studies have advanced to the next phase or phases. The links before will give you current information]

Warning: there are doctors and clinics in the US that are offering costly stem cell treatments that have NOT been proven safe or effective through research.  Before you enter into any stem cell treatment, please do your homework!  Click here for an excellent article called Nine Things to Know About Stem Cell Treatments.

Click here for current research using stem cells for Macular Degeneration

Phase 1 results have been extremely promising. For those who are capable of using the web, there is a Lancet article by Schwartz and Regillo that summarizes the study. Essentially, they found the stem cells did not do anything strange or different when implanted in eyes. Preliminary data suggested that it was safe and tolerable. Even more exciting, they found positive therapeutic effects. A great number of the people who had volunteered and participated in the study showed cessation of deterioration and even improvement.

Phase 1 trials using stem cells is VERY promising.

So why not replace the photoreceptors as well as the RPEs? After all, when the RPEs die, the photoreceptors die. Would it not be reasonable to replace them both?

Unfortunately, medical science is not to this point as of yet. They have been successful in growing photoreceptors in the lab. They have been successful in implanting photoreceptors in the eyes of rats. The only problem is that these will not connect into the neural net. It’s sort of like having invented a cell phone without having a tower for it to work through. You can talk on your phone all day but the message goes nowhere.

They can grow photoreceptors in the lab, implanting them in rats but they won’t connect to the neural net.

That said, they are still working on it very diligently. Some of the literature suggests that it will be quite awhile. However, it will be coming.

If you are interested in seeing some of the studies that are being done on eyes and other medical research, I would invite you to go to the clinical trials website. It is a government website that lists all sorts of fascinating things. Many of them are looking for clients.

You will discover that there are dozens, if not more, of studies that are related to eyes. There are multiple studies related to Age-Related Macular Degeneration. So why would that be?

Someone, I am not remembering who at the moment, has launched the Audacious Goal Project. The Audacious Goal Project is aiming to eradicate blindness in the lifetime of some of you younger folks.

Click here to learn more about the Audacious Goal Challenge in Vision Research and Blindness.

Like the name says it is an audacious goal!

Why now?

And questioning again, why now? What is happening that vision is such a hot topic that we need a national program to deal with blindness?

The truth of the matter is, the pig through the population python is getting towards the end. We baby boomers from the 50s and the 60s have always presented challenges. We have always been very popular and our hot topics have been the topics of the nation. When I was a little girl, they were building elementary schools left and right. Then everything was sweet 16 and on through my lifespan. Right now, everything is security call buttons and retirement accounts. We drive the economy.

We baby boomers from the 50s and 60s have always presented challenges.

Because there are so many of us, our concerns are essential. One of our big concerns is vision. According to my research, AMD is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world. In the United States alone there are as many as 11 million people who have some form of AMD.  They are predicting there will be 22 million by 2050! 

This is going to be a massive drain on the country. When somebody suddenly realized what the numbers were going to look like, they decided they had better do something to ameliorate the problem. Thus, all the research.

Click here for more facts & figures from 2016

As many as 11 million people in the United States have some form of age-related macular degeneration. This number is expected to double to nearly 22 million by 2050.

Written in February 2016. Reviewed September 2018.

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