The identification of a gene mutation in dogs with progressive retinal atrophy could lead to new therapies for blindness in humans.

 

This form of canine atrophy is the equivalent of retinitis pigmentosa in humans. Both conditions are marked by the early loss of rod photoreceptors, which are responsible for night vision.

 

In 2011, the Michigan State University research team had identified a gene mutation in papillon dogs with progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). Subsequently, they conducted experiments to make sure the mutation caused the disease. They found that the mutation of the CNGB1 gene deprives the photoreceptors of a protein that they need to function properly. The gene is responsible for about 70% of observed canine PRA.

 

The research team is now working on developing a gene therapy to correct the problem. Given the similarities between human and canine retinal dystrophy, the development of therapies for dogs could provide an important foundation for preclinical assessment of therapies for humans.

Source:

 

http://cvm.msu.edu/about-the-college/news-and-events/news/cngb1-gene

 

Patients who undergo cataract surgery live longer than those who don’t.

 

According to an article written by Australian researchers and published in Ophthalmology, patients who’d had surgery had a 40% lower long-term risk of death. The study involved 354 people, 49 years of age or older, with cataract-related vision loss. Some underwent surgery, others did not. They were followed from 1992 to 2007.

 

This “suggests to ophthalmologists that correcting cataract patients’ visual impairment results in improved outcomes beyond that of the eye and vision, and has important impacts on general health,” said Jie Jin Wang, one of the lead researchers.

 

The link between cataract correction and the reduction of mortality risk, however, remains unclear. Among the factors deemed “plausible,” the researchers list better physical and emotional well-being, optimism, greater confidence associated with independent living as a result of improved vision and an improved ability to comply with prescription medications. 

 

A team of researchers from the US and Switzerland has developed a contact lens that may improve vision in AMD patients by offering them a choice between normal or magnified vision.

 

The system uses mirror surfaces to make a telescope that has been integrated into a contact lens just over a millimeter thick. The centre of the lens provides unmagnified vision, while the ring-shaped telescope located at the periphery of the regular contact lens magnifies the view 2.8 times. The user can switch between the two thanks to the liquid crystals in the glasses ordinarily used for viewing 3D television. These glasses selectively block either portion of the contact lens.

 

“For a visual aid to be accepted it needs to be highly convenient and unobtrusive,” says one of the members of the team led by Dr. Joseph Ford, researcher Eric Tremblay, of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. This lens would be an attractive compromise between the huge frame-mounted telescopes and surgically implanted micro-telescopes.

 

Tests showed that the magnified image was clear and provided a much larger field of view than other magnification approaches. Improvements still need to be made, namely with regard to colour correction, before the system can be used by patients.

Sources:

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?uri=oe-21-13-15980

http://www.visionmonday.com/latest-news/article/telescopic-contact-lens-may-help-amd-patients/

 

The 20^th edition of the Silmo d’Or is fast approaching and the organizers just announced the nominees in the different categories. We have listed them below and, as in previous years, the name of the winners will be announced the morning following the Gala.

“VISION” CATEGORY:
• BBGR with “Intuitiv”
• ESSILOR with “Crizal Prevencia”
• NOVACEL with “SymbioZ”
• COOPERVISION with “MyDay”
• CVE with “UltraHealth”

“MATERIAL/EQUIPMENT” CATEGORY:
• ACEP with “Smart Mirror Mobile”
• NIDEK with “ARK-1s”
• NOVACEL with “Master RPGA”

“LOW VISION/OPTICAL INSTRUMENT” CATEGORY:

• ACCES’SOLUTIONS with “i-loview super  HD”
• ETEX with “Pebble HD”
• ESSILOR with “Prodigi Duo”
• OLLENDORF with “Visu Plus 10”
• VISIOLE with “Véo” 

“CHILDREN” CATEGORY:
• INFACE with “IF 9001-02”
• JF REY with “JOSEBA”
• KARAVAN & Co with “Monsieur Madame MM0015” 
• OPAL with “Tartine & Chocolat AA249”
• SEAPORT with “KILT 03” de Façonnable

“OPTICAL FRAME” CATEGORY:
• DITA EYEWEAR with “Thom Browne TB-011”
• HAPTER with “A01L”
• KAME MANNEN with “KMN-701”
• MASUNAGA with “Masunaga GMS Limited 2013” 
• SUGIMOTOKEI with “KS52 C-4” 

“SUNGLASSES” CATEGORY:
• DITA EYEWEAR with “Thom Browne TB-701”
• FACTORY900-AOYAMA with “Fa-1111”
• FEB31st with “ISAAC 48000”
• KUBORAUM with “H1”
• UNDOSTRIAL- Lucas de Staël with “Once Upon a time …” 

“SPORTS EQUIPMENT” CATEGORY:
• GRASSET Associés with “Magnesium P5560” d’Eden Park
• Groupe LOGO with “Fury” de SALOMON
• JULBO with “Tensing Flight”
• MAUI JIM with “Hot Sands”

“FRAME TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION” CATEGORY:
• CIDI with “3MOMI Tech”
• IC! BERLIN with “Julius”
• MARIUS MOREL with “Var”
• PQ EYEWEAR with “Angel”
• W-EYE WOODEN EYEWEAR with “King Eider”

Essilor International is up five spots and now ranks 23^rd on Forbes Magazine’s list of the 100 most innovative companies in 2013.

 

For Forbes, the most innovative companies are those that are most likely to succeed in the future. Essilor International ranks as the 5^th most innovative company in Europe, and the 2^nd most innovative in France.  The magazine based this ranking on the more than $200 million that Essilor invests in R&D each year, its three Innovation and Technology Centres and its 500 researchers on various continents. Approximately 40% of Essilor’s annual sales are generated from products launched over the last three years.

 

Quebec-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which recently acquired Bausch+Lomb, ranks 62^nd. The company, whose sales have increased by over 36% in the 12 months preceding the release of the list, is the only Canadian company to be included on the list.

 

Other industry players are also named, such as Regeneron (4^th), whose drug Eylea is a major competitor for Lucentis in the treatment of AMD, and might also be used to treat diabetic macular edema. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton came in 75^th place, whereas adidas is in 92^nd place.

Sources:

 

http://www.forbes.com/innovative-companies/list/

http://www.acuite.fr/articles.asp?REF=8910