Hope for blindness cure with laser breakthrough

News Type: Event — Seeded on Sat Jul 4, 2009 9:24 PM EDT

Article Source: Guardian Unlimited

world-news, uk-news, united-kingdom, blindness, eyesight, macular-degeneration

Millions of people could have their eyesight saved thanks to ground-breaking laser treatment that has the potential to eradicate the most common cause of blindness.

Published to:

Red Wolf's Column, All of Newsvine
Groups: Eurovine, HealthVine, Newsvine Science, Science And Technology, uk-news, Worldviews
Regions: none

What's this?

Who's leading the conversation?

This visualization below allows you to see the impact that each user has on the current conversation. The top row contains the group of users who have had the most impact, the 2nd row the group of users who have had the 2nd most impact (et cetera). Users with similar impact are grouped together, and the average score of the group is shown to the left of the group. The author of the article is also shown on the left, in their corresponding group. Each user's score is based on the number of comments the user has made plus the number of votes their comments have received. The scores are calculated relative one another, so while their absolute value is not particularly important, their relative difference does indicate a larger difference in impact on the conversation.

2.5

{"commentId":8030062,"authorDomain":"redwolf"}

Red Wolf

One of Britain's leading eye experts has developed a technique to reverse the disabling effects of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which leaves many older people unable to read, drive or live independently, and eventually robs them of sight in one or both eyes.

Professor John Marshall has developed a way of "cleaning" eyes which, due to the ageing process, have accumulated tiny particles of debris which start to cloud their sight. His pioneering technique uses a painless "short pulse" laser to solve the otherwise intractable problem of how to help the eye's waste disposal system do its job after it has been weakened by age.

Marshall, a senior ophthalmologist at King's College London, said he hopes this "retinal regeneration therapy" could prevent and reverse the onset of AMD.

{"commentId":8030062,"threadId":"619495","contentId":"2997866","authorDomain":"redwolf"}

1 vote

#1 - Sat Jul 4, 2009 9:25 PM EDT

{"commentId":8035556,"authorDomain":"skylark246"}

Skye-768303

Good news. My brother had childhood diabetes and had laser treatment to clear his eyes. Years ago my neighbor went blind due to this so this is a real blessing for diabetics and others with this problem.

{"commentId":8035556,"threadId":"619495","contentId":"2997866","authorDomain":"skylark246"}

1 vote

#2 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 10:58 AM EDT

{"commentId":8041248,"authorDomain":"redwolf"}

Red Wolf

As with all stories of a miracle cure for blindness, this one is narrow-focussed on age-related macular degeneration only and may not be of any help to anyone else.

However, there is an interesting study being done in Australia where they take stem cells from the good eye and use them to fix the dodgy eye that does seem to have wider reaching implications.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/28/2582954.htm

{"commentId":8041248,"threadId":"619495","contentId":"2997866","authorDomain":"redwolf"}

1 vote

#2.1 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 5:08 PM EDT

{"commentId":8041692,"authorDomain":"skylark246"}

Skye-768303

to fix the dodgy eye

Love the word dodgy. I have good friends in England and this is one of their favorite words, one not used in the US.

{"commentId":8041692,"threadId":"619495","contentId":"2997866","authorDomain":"skylark246"}

#3 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 5:36 PM EDT

{"canLink":false,"threadId":"619495","isPrivate":false}

RED WOLF

Backyard

Hope for blindness cure with laser breakthrough

Published to:

FUN STUFF:

COMPANY STUFF:

LEGAL STUFF: