Researchers at Queen’s University, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, hope to develop an innovative treatment using stem cells to save the sight of millions of diabetes sufferers.

 

As part of the Repair of Diabetic Damage by Stromal Cell Administration (REDDSTAR) study, researchers will isolate stem cells derived from bone-marrow from adult donors, expanding them in the lab and implanting them in patients with diabetes, where they should help repair the blood vessels in the eye.

 

“Currently available treatments for diabetic retinopathy are not always satisfactory,” says lead researcher professor Alan Stitt. “They focus on end-stages of the disease, carry many side effects and fail to address the root causes of the condition.”

 

Over €6 million will be invested in this research, which will bring together experts from Northern Ireland, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, and the United States.

Source: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/CentreforVisionandVascularScience/News/Title,371105,en.html

 

In France, the Nutritional AMD Treatment-2(NAT-2) study has shown that omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce the risk of developing neovascular AMD.

 

The researchers suggest that high doses of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) reduce the risk of developing AMD by 68%. The study, conducted at the Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Créteil (CHIC) on 300 patients who were monitored for three years, is the first to explore the potential of long-term oral supplementation with DHA to reduce the development of AMD. DHA is an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid found in fatty fish.

 

The patients had early age-related macular degeneration lesions. Some of them received 840 mg/day of DHA, plus 270 mg/day of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), whereas others received a placebo. In the DHA group, the more omega-3 patients took, the lower their risk of developing AMD. However, several patients from the placebo group took large amounts of omega-3 in a natural or capsule form on their own initiative, which complicated the comparison of the results between the two groups.

Source: http://www.chicreteil.fr/actualites/actualites.php?actualite_id=110&page=1

 

The genetic cause of Parkinson’s disease could also affect vision, according to a new study from scientists at the University of York, in Great Britain.

 

The researchers have established a link between a genetic mutation that triggers Parkinson’s disease and visual problems in a Drosophila (a fruit fly). The visual system of the Drosophila contains amounts of dopamine that are similar to what is found in the human eye, which makes it a common lab model.

 

Using an electroretinogram, they found a loss of function in the optic nerve cells with the mutant gene. They also found that other genetic mutations linked to Parkinson’s disease did not affect the optic nerve or cause any vision loss.

 

According to research director Dr. Chris Elliott, this is “a significant step forward as it will help to identify those people with Parkinson’s who may be at greater risk of changes in their vision.” He adds that people have to get away from the idea that this condition only affects movements, and understand that it also affects vision.

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/256482.php  

 

What if amblyopia could be cured by simply turning out the lights for a few days? That’s what researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, suggest.

 

In a recent study, the researchers studied kittens with amblyopia. After the kittens had spent 10 days in complete darkness, the kittens quickly recovered visual function.  The researchers suggest that the recovery of vision comes from the loss of neurofilaments that hold the visual system in place. When these stabilizing elements disappear, the visual system becomes free to correct itself.

 

“There may be ways to increase brain plasticity and recover from disorders such as amblyopia without drug intervention,” says researcher Kevin Duffy. “The advantage of a simple nonpharmacological sensory manipulation, such as a period of darkness, is that it may initiate changes in a constellation of molecules in a beneficial temporal order and in appropriate brain regions.”

 

The study findings were published in the scientific journal Current Biology.

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/256420.php

An international team of scientists led by King’s College London has identified 24 new genes that cause refractive errors and short-sightedness.

 

The researchers published their findings in the journal Nature Genetics. Until now, the scientific community knew that short-sightedness was hereditary, but did not fully understand the genetic baggage involved. To learn more, the researchers analysed genetic and refractive error data of over 45,000 people from 32 different studies. They found 24 new genes for this trait, and confirmed 2 previously reported genes. People with these genes are 10 times more likely to develop short-sightedness.

 

“Currently myopia is corrected with glasses or contact lenses, but now that we understand more about the genetic triggers for the condition, we can begin to explore other ways to correct it or prevent progression,” says Professor Chris Hammond, of King’s College. “It is an extremely exciting step forward which could potentially lead to better treatments or prevention in the future for millions around the world.”

 

Source: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/newsevents/news/newsrecords/2013/02-Feb/24-new-genes-for-short-sightedness-identified.aspx