In the United States, Google has partnered with VSP Global for the creation of a first prescription eyeglass collection for Google Glass.

 

For now, Google Glass eyewear is still being tested and is only available to Glass Explorers, a small, exclusive group of people who are presently testing the product. The partnership between VSP Global and Google will offer these wearers the opportunity to obtain a pair of prescription Google Glass from one of VSP’s 30,000 US suppliers, who will be trained and certified to fit Glass eyewear.

 

The ability to offer Google Glass prescription eyewear could expand the potential market for the device, which many are impatiently awaiting.

 

“Our partner, VSP, will be continuously training and bringing ECPs onboard to help fit Explorers in major cities,” said Google in a message to its group of Explorers. “While we don’t go into specific numbers, we’ve had trainings already in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles and we’ll continue to expand on that in the months ahead.”

Sources:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303277704579348030488305004?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303277704579348030488305004.html

 

http://www.visionmonday.com/latest-news/article/google-launches-first-rx-eyeglass-collection-for-glass-in-partnership-with-vsp-global-1/

 

 

Dopamine-restoring drugs already used to treat Parkinson’s disease may also be beneficial for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.

 

“There was some evidence already that dopamine levels were reduced in diabetic retinopathy, but what’s new here is: we can restore dopamine levels and improve visual function in an animal model of diabetes,” explains Machelle Pardue, one of the authors of the paper, which appeared in Journal of Neuroscience.

 

The researchers treated diabetic mice by injecting them with L-dopa, which slowed down the appearance of visual problems by several weeks and lessened the severity of the visual defects. They also discovered that the visual benefits of L-dopa came from the retinas, as the treatment improved retinal responses.

 

Other dopamine-related treatments were also tested. For example, injecting mice with a D1R receptor agonist improved visual acuity, while a D4R receptor agonist improved contrast sensitivity.

 

“This shows that treatments targeting dopamine could be beneficial to patients with established diabetes,” concluded co-author Michael Iuvone.

Sources:

http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/3/726

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140122134323.htm

 

 

 

British surgeons have found a new method to heal patients with choroideremia, a genetic disease that can lead to blindness.

 

This disease, for which no remedy has existed until now, causes pigmentary deposits and a loss of photoreceptors. Young patients see less and less in low-light conditions, until they become blind by adulthood.

 

In an attempt to heal six young patients, the team of researchers led by Robert McLaren injected the patients with healthy copies of the CHM gene, which was defective in the patients, directly into the retina. The method saved the patients their vision. Despite having retinal detachment, two patients saw their vision improve considerably with regard to low-light vision, sharpness and colours.

 

The study findings were published in the scientific journal The Lancet. The researchers would like to use a similar method to heal other types of blindness.

Sources:

http://www.acuite.fr/articles.asp?REF=9322

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)62117-0/fulltext

 

Google is developing a “smart” contact lens, able to measure the glucose levels in the tears of patients with diabetes.

 

The prototype uses a tiny wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material. It is able to produce one reading per second and could incorporate miniature LED lights to warn the wearer when glucose levels are getting out of control.

 

“It’s still early days for this technology,” said Brian Otis and Babak Parviz, project co-founders. “But we’ve completed multiple clinical research studies which are helping to refine our prototype. We hope this could someday lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease.”

 

There is still a lot of work to be done before this technology is useable. “We’re not going to do this alone: we plan to look for partners who are experts in bringing products like this to market,” commented the researchers. “At a time when the International Diabetes Federation is declaring that the world is ‘losing the battle’ against diabetes, we thought this project was worth a shot.”

Source:

http://googleblog.blogspot.ca

 

 

The Regard Action eyecare professional services cooperative has released the names of the opticians and optometrists who will be finalists in its 2014 Excellence Awards contest.

 

These awards celebrate the passion, ambition, dynamism and community service of eyecare professionals. They were created to honour and recognize the talent of the network’s ECPs and emerging professionals.

 

In the Optician of the Year category, the finalists are:

 

• Richard Chamberland, Les yeux du coeur, Terrebonne;

• Robert Grimard, Grimard Optique, Montréal;
• Serge Poulin, Optique Serge Poulin, Québec.

 

In the Optometrist of the Year category, the finalists are:

 

• Dr. Benoit Bergeron, Optique Comeau, Campbellton;
• Dr. Marie-Josée Couture, Les Branchés Lunetterie, Montréal;
• Dr. Isabelle Parent, Optique Serge Poulin, Québec.

 

The seven finalists have been cordially invited to attend the cooperative’s Congress to be held on the occasion of Regard Action’s 25th anniversary, at the Hôtel La Ferme, in Charlevoix, in April 2014. The winners’ names will be announced at the Gala evening event on April 26.

Source: Regard Action