Month: May 2013

Vigabatrin (Sabril), first intention molecule for the treatment of epilepsy in children, in many cases produces secondary effects that lead to an irreversible loss of vision. Serge Picaud, head of research at Inserm, and his colleagues of the Institut de la Vision have just discovered the origin of this secondary effect and have proposed strategies for limiting it. They have shown that vigabatrin provokes a marked decrease in the blood level in an amino acid, taurine, resulting in a degeneration of the retina cells induced by light. The researchers therefore suggest that exposure to light should be reduced and a taurine-rich diet introduced in order to curb immediately these secondary effects in children undergoing treatment. As for the validation of an alternative treatment associating vigabatrin and taurine, this will necessitate several years of development.

This work is published in the review Annals of Neurology.

Epilepsy affects 1% of the world’s population. With children, its treatment remains extremely restricted, and vigabatrin, (marketed in France under the name of Sabril®), has obtained marketing authorisation for children aged under 2 years. This anticonvulsant, which is also administered to adults in the case of failure of other treatments, is at the same time now being evaluated for the treatment of addiction to heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines.

However, the serious secondary effects of this drug can induce an impairment of the retina and a restriction of the visual field, noted, depending on the studies, in 10% to 40% of patients.

In order to reach an understanding of this drug’s modes of actions, and in particular the mechanism of visual function impairment, the Inserm researchers first of all administered vigabatrin to rats over a period of several months and analysed the influence of exposure to light during the treatment. The results show that there is no damage to the retina when the animals are kept in the dark throughout the treatment.

Moreover, since previous work had shown that a deficiency of the organism in taurine (amino acid) triggers the degeneration of the photoreceptors (cells of the retina converting light into nervous signals), the researchers measured, in rodents, the plasma level of 19 amino acids. Whereas the concentration was identical for most of the amino acids in animals under vigabatrin and in non-treated rats, the taurine level turned out to be 67% lower in treated animals

Taurine is essentially contributed by diet. By providing certain of the animals under treatment with a taurine supplementation, the researchers noted that their visual acuity was greater than that of the animals without supplementation. In addition, the amino acid doses administered to six children subject to regular attacks of epilepsy and treated under vigabatrin reveal a taurine level that is far below the normal values reported for children of the same age – and in some cases even undetectable.

On the strength of these various tests, the scientists were able to prove that vigabatrin induces a pronounced reduction of the taurine level in the plasma. This marked fall is responsible for the degeneration of the photoreceptors and thus for the retinal toxicity in the animals exposed to light.

Pending confirmation in the human of the interest of providing patients under vigabatrin with a taurine supplementation, the researchers propose immediate solutions designed to limit the secondary effects in these patients. “In the first instance, care should therefore be taken to ensure that patients under vigabatrin consume a sufficient amount of food containing taurine. It is also important that they should be exposed to as little light as possible (e.g.; no night lights in a baby’s bedroom at night) and should be induced to wear sunglasses”, says Serge Picaud.

The researchers also emphasise that any taurine supplementation must be subject to medical advice.

To find out more:

Firas Jammoul MD1,2, Qingping Wang MD1,2,3, Rima Nabbout MD4,5,6, Caroline Coriat MD1,2, Agn??s Duboc PhD1,2, Manuel Simonutti1,2, Elisabeth Dubus1,2, Cheryl M. Craft PhD7, Wen Ye MD3, Stephen D. Collins MD PhD8 , Olivier Dulac MD4,5,6, Catherine Chiron MD4,5,6, Jos?� A. Sahel MD1,2,9,10, Serge Picaud PhD1,2,10,11
Inserm, U592, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France

Universit?� Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris6, UMR-S 592, Paris, France ;

Fudan University, Ophthalmology Department, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai, China

Inserm, U663, Paris, France

University Rene Descartes, Paris V, Paris, France

APHP, Hopital Necker, Service de Neurop?�diatrie, Paris, France

Ophthalmology and Cell & Neurobiology Departments, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, and The Mary D. Allen Laboratory for Vision Research, Doheny Eye Institute, Los Angeles, USA

Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Deerfield, USA

Centre Hospitalier National d’Ophtalmologie des quinze-vingts, Paris, France;

Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild, Paris, France

Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris, France

Annals of neurology DOI: dx.doi/10.1002/ana.21526
Published Online: 4 Feb 2009

Source: Priscille Riviere

INSERM (Institut national de la sant?� et de la recherche m?�dicale)

View drug information on Sabril.

The Commonwealth Government has awarded more than 2.1 million dollars to 13 organisations to improve eye health care under the National Eye Health Initiative.

The grants program aims to improve quality, safety and access to eye health care, particularly for disadvantaged groups and people in rural and remote communities.

The National Eye Health Initiative was announced in the 2006-07 Budget, following the release in November 2005 of the National Framework for Action to Promote Eye Health and Prevent Avoidable Blindness and Vision Loss.

The framework encourages governments, health professionals, non-government organisations, industry and the community to work together on eye care issues, with an emphasis on preventing and treating avoidable vision loss.

The National Eye Health Initiative funding of $13.8 million over fours year is in addition to the $600 million that the Commonwealth Government spends every year on eye health care in areas such as ophthalmological and optometric services, pharmaceutical products and vision-related research.

A second round of funding is being made available under the Eye Health Demonstration Grants Program for projects that trial and evaluate innovative approaches to the delivery of eye health care in Australia. This round was advertised in early September 2007 and applications are due by 26 October. Details are available at health.au/tenders.

A list of successful applicants is attached.

Eye Health Demonstration Grants
First-Round Funding

– $197,500 to the Association for the Blind of Western Australia, for a trial and evaluation of innovative methods of eye health education.

– $191,800 to CanDo4Kids – Townsend House, South Australia, to conduct a pilot of a new eye health and low-vision initiative for children and their families through the Children’s Centres for Early Childhood Development and Parenting across the state.

– $159,970 to the Canning Division of General Practice, Western Australia, to engage an Aboriginal Eye Health Worker to improve the coordination of eye health and vision care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients in mainstream general practice.

– $199,810 to the Curtin University of Technology, Perth, for a trial and evaluation of self-management approaches to managing eye disease and injury.

– $75,300 to Glaucoma Australia, to undertake a glaucoma outreach project in northern Queensland and the Northern Territory.

– $200,000 to the Guide Dogs Association of South Australia and Northern Territory, to undertake a pilot to improve the coordination of eye health and vision care services for older people in communities across South Australia.

– $198,896 to the International Centre for Eyecare Education, University of New South Wales, for a training program to develop the skills and knowledge of Aboriginal eye health workers in the Northern Territory.

– $198,550 to the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, for a pilot project to determine the effectiveness of childhood vision screening for Australia.

– $199,656 to the National Ageing Research Institute, Melbourne, to identify the magnitude of vision impairment and its interaction with environmental problems for older people in residential care in metropolitan and regional Victoria.

– $29,925 to the Queensland Vision Initiative, to undertake an eye health and vision care referral pathways project in metropolitan Brisbane.

– $92,800 to the Royal Guide Dogs Association of Tasmania, for a pilot project to improve the coordination of eye health and vision care across Tasmania.

– $200,000 to the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, to trial and evaluate shared care arrangements in managing glaucoma, diabetic eye disease and age-related macular degeneration.

– $197,800 to the University of Western Australia, Perth, to pilot an integrated telemedicine project to provide specialist eye care services.

health.au/

On 30th September, RNIB launched a new report on the ‘Labour Market Experiences of People with Seeing Difficulties – a Secondary Analysis of the Labour Force Survey’ (LFS).

This research, undertaken by the Institute for Employment Studies, provides us with a recent picture of the demographic characteristics and employment opportunities for working age people with seeing difficulties.

Overall, this research shows that people with seeing difficulties are relatively well qualified and a higher than average proportion of those that are in work, are in high level occupations.

However, the overall employment rate for people with seeing difficulties is low, and even lower for people who are disabled by their sight problems. If they have additional disabilities or health problems the employment rate drops even lower.

The research also shows that people disabled by seeing difficulties have a higher unemployment rate than other disabled groups. Additionally, it finds that while 45% are economically inactive, a third say that they would like to work.

The findings from this research indicate that employment strategies need to be better targeted towards understanding and addressing the needs of these different groups.

To note, Network 1000 research also provides recent evidence for the employment opportunities of people with visual disabilities. However, it focuses on people who are registered blind and partially sighted. The LFS sample, whilst it should exclude people whose visual problems can be corrected by glasses and contact lenses, most likely represents people with a broader spectrum of visual loss.

The Executive Summary and Research Briefing, along with the Full Report, can also be downloaded from this web link: snipurl/3zmn0

RNIB

The Glaucoma Foundation and the Glaucoma Research Foundation, two preeminent organizations dedicated to eradicating blindness from glaucoma through vital research and education, are joint recipients of the American Glaucoma Society’s (AGS) 2008 President’s Award.

The award will be presented at the Society’s Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. on March 7 to Scott R. Christensen, president and CEO of the Glaucoma Foundation and Thomas M. Brunner, president and CEO of the Glaucoma Research Foundation.

The American Glaucoma Society supports glaucoma specialists and scientists through the advancement of education and research. Recipients of the annual AGS President’s Award are chosen by the AGS president and approved by a special committee of the organization for “significant contributions to the glaucoma community??�” In previous years, distinguished individuals in the field have received the AGS President’s Award. This is the first year that glaucoma organizations are being recognized with this award.

Parallel Missions

The two foundations share parallel missions. The Glaucoma Foundation was founded in 1984 by Dr. Robert Ritch to fund groundbreaking research and to educate the public about the disease and the importance of early detection to prevent blindness. TGF awards seed grants primarily in three areas: optic nerve rescue and regeneration, molecular genetics and the use of nanotechnology for monitoring IOP, diagnosing and monitoring damage to the optic nerve and delivering drugs and other therapies.

The Glaucoma Research Foundation, the oldest U.S. glaucoma organization, was founded by Dr. Robert Shaffer, Dr. H. Dunbar Hoskins, Jr., and Dr. John Hetherington in San Francisco in 1978. Its research programs fund innovative projects that meet the criteria of its strategic goals: protecting and restoring the optic nerve, understanding the IOP system and developing better treatments, accurately monitoring glaucoma’s founded by Dr. Robert Shaffer, Dr. H. Dunbar Hoskins, Jr., and Dr. John Hetherington in San Francisco in 1978. Its research programs fund innovative projects that meet the criteria of its strategic goals: protecting and restoring the optic nerve, understanding the IOP system and developing better treatments, accurately monitoring glaucoma’s progression, finding the genes responsible for glaucoma, and determining the risk factors of glaucoma – with the ultimate goal of finding a cure.

Researchers funded by both foundations frequently use preliminary data from their investigations to support proposals for larger grants from such entities as the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“Our organizations understand the urgency of making glaucoma research everyone’s top priority if we are to unlock the mysteries of glaucoma,” says Thomas M. Brunner of the Glaucoma Research Foundation.

“Both foundations are committed to using their resources and seeking partnerships to educate and provide support to glaucoma patients worldwide,” says The Glaucoma Foundation’s Scott Christensen. “We are reaching out at home and globally to raise awareness of the toll of this disease that afflicts 67 million people around the world.”

The Glaucoma Foundation

Rodents blinded by a severed tract in their brains’ visual system had their sight partially restored within weeks, thanks to a tiny biodegradable scaffold invented by MIT bioengineers and neuroscientists.

This technique, which involves giving brain cells an internal matrix on which to regrow, just as ivy grows on a trellis, may one day help patients with traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and stroke.

The study, which will appear in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) the week of March 13-17, is the first that uses nanotechnology to repair and heal the brain and restore function of a damaged brain region.

“If we can reconnect parts of the brain that were disconnected by a stroke, then we may be able to restore speech to an individual who is able to understand what is said but has lost the ability to speak,” said co-author Rutledge G. Ellis-Behnke, research scientist in the MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. “This is not about restoring 100 percent of damaged brain cells, but 20 percent or even less may be enough to restore function, and that is our goal.”

Spinal cord injuries, serious stroke and severe traumatic brain injuries affect more than 5 million Americans at a total cost of $65 billion a year in treatment.

“If you can return a certain quality of life, if you can get some critical functions back, you have accomplished a lot for a victim of brain injury,” said study co-author Gerald E. Schneider, professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT. Ellis-Behnke and Schneider worked with colleagues from the MIT Center for Biomedical Engineering (CBE) and medical schools in Hong Kong and China.

In the experiment on young and adult hamsters with severed neural pathways, the researchers injected the animals’ brains with a clear solution containing a self-assembling material made of fragments of proteins, the building blocks of the human body. These protein fragments are called peptides.

Shuguang Zhang, associate director of the CBE and one of the study’s co-authors, has been working on self-assembling peptides for a variety of applications since he discovered them by accident in 1991. Zhang found that placing certain peptides in a salt solution causes them to assemble into thin sheets of 99 percent water and 1 percent peptides. These sheets form a mesh or scaffold of tiny interwoven fibers. Neurons are able to grow through the nanofiber mesh, which is similar to that which normally exists in the extracellular space that holds tissues together.

The process does not involve growing new neurons, but creates an environment conducive for existing cells to regrow their long branchlike projections called axons, through which neurons form synaptic connections to communicate with other neurons. These projections were able to bridge the gap created when the neural pathway was cut and restore enough communication among cells to give the animals back useful vision within around six weeks. The researchers were surprised to find that adult brains responded as robustly as the younger animals’ brains, which typically are more adaptable.

“Our designed self-assembling peptide nanofiber scaffold created a good environment not only for axons to regenerate through the site of an acute injury but also to knit the brain tissue together,” said Zhang. The technique may be useful for helping close cuts in the brain made during surgery to remove tumors.

Doctors treating traumatic brain injury are confronted with a number of obstacles. When brain tissue is injured, the tissue closes itself like a skin wound. When this happens, scar tissue forms around the injury and large gaps appear where there was once continuous gray matter.

When the clear fluid containing the self-assembling peptides is injected into the area of the cut, it flows into gaps and starts to work as soon as it comes into contact with the fluid that bathes the brain. After serving as a matrix for new cell growth, the peptides’ nanofibers break down into harmless products that are eventually excreted in urine or used for tissue repair.

The MIT researchers’ synthetic biological material is better than currently available biomaterials because it forms a network of nanofibers similar in scale to the brain’s own matrix for cell growth; it can be broken down into natural amino acids that may even be beneficial to surrounding tissue; it is free of chemical and biological contaminants that may show up in animal-derived products such as collagen; and it appears to be immunologically inert, avoiding the problem of rejection by surrounding tissue, the authors wrote.

The researchers are testing the self-assembling peptides on spinal cord injuries and hope to launch trials in primates and eventually humans.

In addition to Ellis-Behnke, Zhang and Schneider, authors include Yu-Xiang Liang, Kwok-Fai So and David K.C. Tay of the University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine and State Key Lab of Brain and Cognitive Sciences; and Si-Wei You of the Institute of Neurosciences, Fourth Military Medical University in Xian, China.

This work is funded by the Whitaker Foundation, the Deshpande Center at MIT, the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong and private donations by Peter Kook and the late Mr. and Mrs. Ma Yip Seng.

mit.edu

One In Five Losing Sight Lacks Critical Support

In the time it takes for one revolution of the London Eye, two more people in the UK will begin to lose their sight*. Shockingly, one in five people newly-diagnosed with sight loss has to wait more than a year for any advice or support.*

Action for Blind People believes that everyone has the right to high-quality information and support services at the point of diagnosis. The charity has successfully piloted such schemes, called EyePod, in partnership with eye clinics and hospitals in the North of England. To mark World Sight Day (9th October), Action is launching the success of its EyePod service at the London Eye and will be highlighting the desperate need for more of these services to be rolled out across the country. This aim specifically supports the recently launched UK Vision Strategy.

Stephen Remington, Chief Executive at Action for Blind People says: “The EyePod service bridges the gap between being told you’re losing your sight and being able to make the practical and emotional changes necessary in learning to live with a visual impairment. Without the right support at this most crucial moment the consequences can be devastating. We want everyone in the UK diagnosed with sight loss to get the support they need and deserve. This means that every eye clinic in the country needs a dedicated, quality service and EyePod is Action’s contribution to achieving that aim.”

One person who has benefited greatly from this service is 61 year old, Joseph Thompson, he said: “Driving was my job and my life and to have that taken away from me was devastating. When I lost my sight, Action for Blind People was the first organisation I came into contact with and when they stepped in, they filled in a gap. They were there when I needed them the most and helped me through a very bad time and made things a lot easier for me.”

If you or anyone you know needs support with sight loss, please call Action for Blind People’s National Freephone Helpline on 0800 915 4666 or visit our website at: actionforblindpeople

* based on National Statistics on Registered Blind and Partially Sighted People

* RNIB’s ‘Changing the way we think about blindness 2002’

Notes

— World Sight Day (WSD) is the international day of awareness, held annually by Vision 2020, to focus attention on the global issue of avoidable blindness and visual impairment.

— Action for Blind People supports the UK Vision Strategy which aims to:

– Improve the eye health of the people of the UK
– Eliminate avoidable sight loss and deliver excellent support to those with a visual impairment
– Enhance the inclusion, participation and independence of blind and partially sighted people

— Action for Blind People is breaking down barriers that prevent visually impaired people from achieving the same opportunities as sighted people.

Action for Blind People

Trachoma, which is caused by ocular infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, remains the leading infectious cause of blindness and in 2002 was responsible for 3.6% of total global blindness. In a paper published in PLoS Medicine, Martin Holland and colleagues from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have studied the human immune response to this infection in a population where trachoma is very common.

The researchers studied 345 children in the Gambia, who could be divided into four groups based on infection with C. trachomatis and clinical signs. Some children–particularly the older ones–were uninfected and had no clinical signs. Others were infected but showed no clinical signs–these children were incubating the bacteria. Some were infected and had clinical disease; these children had the highest bacterial loads. Finally, children recovering from an infection carried no bacteria but still had some clinical signs. The researchers detected different types of immune response in each of these groups.

Children incubating the bacteria had a strong pro-inflammatory response–their immune systems were trying to fight off infection. The pro-inflammatory response was even stronger in the infected children with clinical signs, but the regulatory response was also increased, presumably to limit inflammation. In children in the recovery phase, only regulatory immune cells, which were making mRNA from a gene called FOXP3, remained active.

These results suggest that the interaction between the infection and the clinical disease process is complex and that regulatory immune cells are important in limiting the inflammatory response to this infection. This information about immune responses at different stages of infection with C. trachomatis may help in the design of vaccines to prevent this infection.

Citation: Faal N, Bailey RL, Jeffries D, Joof H, Sarr I, et al. (2006) Conjunctival FOXP3 expression in trachoma: Do regulatory T cells have a role in human ocular Chlamydia trachomatis infection? PLoS Med 3(8): e266.

PLEASE ADD THE LINK TO THE PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT: dx.doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030266

� Caption: Immunology in action: follicular trachoma in a Gambian child

CONTACT:

Martin Holland
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Infectious and Tropical Diseases
Keppel Street
PO Box 273
London WC1E 7HT United Kingdom
Martin.Hollandlshtm.ac

All works published in PLoS Medicine are open access. Everything is immediately available without cost to anyone, anywhere–to read, download, redistribute, include in databases, and otherwise use–subject only to the condition that the original authorship is properly attributed. Copyright is retained by the authors. The Public Library of Science uses the Creative Commons Attribution License.

About PLoS Medicine

PLoS Medicine is an open access, freely available international medical journal. It publishes original research that enhances our understanding of human health and disease, together with commentary and analysis of important global health issues. For more information, visit plosmedicine/

About the Public Library of Science

The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world’s scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. For more information, visit plos/

Contact: Andrew Hyde
Public Library of Science

OSU’s Technology Business Assessment Group will fund four faculty research projects for spring 2008. The group identified these one-year projects from a number of excellent proposals submitted in response to a solicitation earlier this spring. Funding for the program is administered by the OSU Office of Intellectual Property Management, and is generated by royalties from OSU-licensed technologies. These funded projects show a significant probability of having commercial success.

“We are pleased that the OIPM royalty stream allowed us to hold yet another competition for the spring of 2008,” Steve Price, director of OIPM, said. “It’s exciting to be able to continue the trend of developing OSU research into viable commercial products.”

Created in 2005, TBAG funds projects in need of feasibility demonstration and/or prototype development for commercialization purposes. The group is comprised of private sector partners experienced in new product identification and new technology evaluation, representation from i2E, early-stage capital investors, bankers, representation from Meridian Technology Center for Business Development, the OSU Center for Innovation and Economic Development, the OSU Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer, the OSU Associate Vice President for Technology Development and OSU-Okmulgee.

The OSU research projects selected to receive more than $102,000 from TBAG this year include:
Heather Gappa-Fahlenkamp, “Development of a 3D Human Tissue Model for Screening Potential Diabetic Macular Edema Therapeutics,” School of Chemical Engineering. With a current 3D human tissue model made up of endothelial cells, the cells that line blood vessels, and collagen, the most abundant protein in tissue, Fahlenkamp has been able to mimic the interface between a blood vessel wall and the surrounding tissue to study the migration and differentiation of immune cells associated with diabetes. By using human retinal capillary endothelial cells within the tissue model, Fahlenkamp plans to develop a retinal angiogenesis model, which will be used to screen potential diabetic macular edema therapeutics. Charlesson LLC, an Oklahoma-based company already engaged in the development and preclinical testing of therapeutics for macular degeneration, is a collaborator on the project, and if the project is successful, would be a licensee.

Prabhakar R. Pagilla, “A Fiber Optic Sensor for Measurement of Web Lateral Position and Flutter,” School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. “Web” is a term used to describe materials manufactured and processed in a continuous, flexible strip form. Examples include: plastics, paper, textiles, metals and films. Guiding of the web on rollers through processing machinery is essential for successful manufacturing of all web materials. In this project, Pagilla plans to develop and commercialize a fiber optic sensing device to measure the lateral position of a web. Current sensing devices use either infrared or ultrasonic technology, which Pagilla says give an indirect measurement of the web lateral position. The fiber optic sensor is based on light scattering from the web and the directional sensitivity of the optical fibers, which according to Pagilla will provide a true measurement of the web lateral position. Pagilla also intends to start a company based on this technology.

Rathindra Sarathy, “Developing Data Protection Software Based on Data Shuffling,” Spears School of Business. Data shuffling is a method developed by Sarathy that rearranges confidential information from data sets in a complex, coordinated fashion so that it maintains confidentiality. In this project, Sarathy will work with his research collaborator at the University of Kentucky to develop the data shuffling method into a marketable software program. The need for data masking methods has increased with the advent of technologies like the Internet and data mining tools that pose substantial threats to privacy, Sarathy said. Commercial organizations, government agencies and healthcare institutions need ways to analyze and/or disseminate confidential information in a safe way. Unlike adding “noise,” another method for masking, the shuffled data looks natural making it appear more reasonable to users. After development is complete, Sarathy plans to create a spin-off company housed in Stillwater to manufacture the software program.

Raman P. Singh and Ranji Vaidyanathan, “Recycled Rubber Composites for Aerospace, Defense, and Infrastructure Applications,” School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Singh and Vaidyanathan will utilize rubber from discarded tires to create sandwich-core composite laminates. The lightweight, load bearing composites will be able to absorb acoustic noise and vibration and provide protection from blast loading. Currently, used tires are employed in basic applications like burning fuel for cement kilns and crumb rubber for molded products. The researchers assert this proposed application would greatly extend the use of crumb rubber by enabling its use in advanced engineering structures. In this project, they plan to conduct feasibility tests, prepare demonstration panels and generate basis data on the mechanical and acoustic properties.

For more information on the Technology Business Assessment Group, visit vpr.okstate.edu/ipm.

Source: Kelly Green

Oklahoma State University

A study conducted by the Centre for Vision Research, University of
Sydney, Australia, examines how steroid (corticosteroid) use relates
to risks for cataract,b the clouding of the eye’s lens that leads to
reduced vision and blindness, if untreated.

Many people with asthma
rely on inhaled, and sometimes oral, steroids, as do people with
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This population-based
study, a cohort of the Blue Mountains Eye Study, followed 3,654
Australians, aged 49 years or older, five and 10 years after initial
(baseline) examinations conducted between 1992 and 1994. This
timeframe was needed to assess the long-term impact of steroid use on
cataracts, which develop slowly over years. Based on their findings,
the researchers suggest that more judicious prescription of combined
inhaled and oral steroids may decrease cataract risk for asthma
patients.

“Our findings could mean that combined steroid use, when it results
in high cumulative dosage over relatively long periods, increases
risks for two types of cataract,” said lead researcher, Jie Jin Wang,
MMed, PhD, Centre for Vision Research. “When clinicians prescribe
both steroid forms, the cumulative, combined dose should be
considered. Also, recent clinical trials indicate that combined
steroids are not more effective than inhaled steroids alone in
treating asthma.” He added that further investigation is needed to
determine whether asthma plays a role in nuclear cataract
development.

Elevated cataract risks were found only in patients who, at the time
of their baseline exams, had ever used inhaled steroids, had also used
oral steroids for at least one month, and had no cataracts. Patients
at highest risk for two types of cataract were those defined at
baseline as “current users” of both steroid forms; although this was
a small group, follow up exams found that nearly all of them
developed cataracts. Of seven current user patients, five had used
either steroid form for more than five years, and four of the five
developed posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC). Three additional
current user patients developed nuclear cataracts. In nuclear
cataracts the center of the lens is obscured, and in PSC the cataract
develops in the rear area of the lens. Earlier research had
established a higher risk for PSC in oral steroids users.

April 2009 Issue of Ophthalmology.

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology

AAO is the world’s largest association of eye physicians and surgeons
— Eye M.D.s — with more than 27,000 members worldwide. Eye health
care is provided by the three “O’s” — opticians, optometrists and
ophthalmologists. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can
treat it all: eye diseases and injuries, and perform eye surgery.

Source
American Academy of Ophthalmology

KwaZulu Natal (KZN) has learned why ‘Seeing is truly Believing’ at the launch of a project to improve the vision of one million people in the province by 2010. A USD1.28 million (approximately R9 million) sponsorship by Standard Chartered Bank to Giving Sight to Africa, KZN, was announced at the launch by the MEC for Health, Ms Neliswa Nkonyeni at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Ethekwini on World Sight Day.

The sponsorship, forming part of the global Standard Chartered Bank campaign initiative ‘Seeing is Believing’ was awarded to project partners, the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE) and the Department of Health, KZN at the launch attended by MEC for Health, Ms. Nkonyeni, Mrs. Ina Cronje, MEC for Education, KZN and 5,000 invited guests and members of the community.

The ‘Giving Sight to Africa’, KZN project, aims to do exactly that – give sight to those members of our community who currently do not have access to eye care services. The program involves a comprehensive eyecare framework, which has been developed through years of extensive research and draws on ICEEs international expertise and experience. It allows individuals across the community to gain access to eye care services, such as eye screening, provision of spectacles and onward referrals for more complicated conditions, wherever they may be living in the Province. The program is an eye care model which, once it has been piloted successfully within KZN, can then be replicated in other provinces, and possibly even shared as best practice within other African countries where district health forms the cornerstone of the national health system.

Speaking at the launch, MEC for Health, Ms Nkonyeni said, “This is another great example of how public and private partnerships can deliver great benefits directly to individuals across our communities. Preventable and curable blindness, as well as vision impairment is restricting many South Africans from supporting themselves and their families, and even preventing our young children from getting an education – ‘Giving Sight to Africa’ is a model which aims to address this gap in accessing eyecare, thereby generating extensive benefits for our people and our broader communities as a whole.”

Taking part in the launch were primary health care nurses, trained in primary eye care through ICEEs ‘Giving Sight to Africa’ program. They are the very first graduates of 600 to be trained over the next two years, and will be placed in service points of the program throughout the province.

Speaking on behalf of ICEE Global Program Director and World Optometrist of the Year 2007, Professor Kovin Naidoo, said, “Giving Sight to Africa KZN is a wonderful example of a public-private partnership between Government, a Non Profit Organisation (NGO) and a corporate sponsor. It allows us each to collectively harness our capability and to then deliver a real benefit to the community. We applaud the Department of Health and we humbly thank them and our generous sponsor Standard Chartered Bank for showing the world, that ‘Seeing is Believing’.”

Attending the launch Standard Chartered Bank, Chief Executive Officer for South Africa, Chris Low said, “Standard Chartered Bank’s international ‘Seeing is Believing’ campaign allows us to give back to the communities in which we operate across the globe. The initiative is forms a key part of our commitment to making a difference in the lives of individuals, including those in South Africa. Beneficial partnerships, such as those formed with the KZN Department of Health and ICEE, allow us to achieve this goal – ultimately contributing to our international Seeing is Believing target of restoring sight to 10 million individuals by the year 2010.”

Seeing is Believing is a global community initiative established in 2003 which is driven by Standard Chartered staff who fundraise, volunteer and raise awareness of avoidable blindness issues.

The program has already raised enough money to help NGOs across the developing world restore the sight of over 1 million people. ‘Seeing is Believing’s’ latest ambition aims to raise USD 10 million by 2010 to make a difference to the lives of 10 million people across 20 countries.

ICEE – International Centre for Eyecare Education

ICEE is a global non-profit, non-governmental organization. In the last ten years ICEE has delivered sustainable eye care services, education and training programs in more than 40 countries. ICEE is focused on the elimination of avoidable blindness by developing solutions with communities in need of eye care thereby improving opportunities in education, employment and quality of life.

For more information please go to icee

Standard Chartered Bank – Seeing is Believing campaign

Seeing is Believing is a Standard Chartered initiative which works with leading eye care agencies to support projects that have an immediate impact on people’s lives and establish sustainable health care for the future. The programme supports VISION 2020 – The Right to Sight, a global collaboration bringing together the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness, the World Health Organisation and international NGOs to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020.

For more information, visit website: seeingisbelieving