Researchers have found a method for reversing congenital blindness in mice. The technique involves changing cells in the retina – called Müller glia – into rod photoreceptors, light-sensitive cells which help people see in low light. The findings of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded study appear in the journal Nature."Rods allow us to see in low light, but they may also help preserve cone photoreceptors, which are important for color vision and high visual acuity," said Thomas N. Greenwell, program director for retinal neuroscience at the National Eye Institute.
More research is needed to determine if the technique could work on humans.
Please contact San Diego Center for the Blind if you are living with vision loss, we offer several innovative programs.
“Researchers reverse congenital blindness in mice, study finds”
Daria Finley is living with blindness because of glaucoma, but she has not let her condition hold her back, and she is trying things for the first time. Since going blind, Finley is modeling, she has acted in a short film, and she wrote a one-woman play about her experiences and was the star. Blindness can be the beginning of a new chapter in life, not the end of a person’s story.
New research presents evidence that glaucoma may be the result of the immune system deteriorating eye cells; the condition often leads to vision loss. Even though glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the world, researchers know very little about the disease. The findings open “a new approach to prevent and treat glaucoma," says study author Jianzhu Chen, an MIT professor of biology.
Practically every American spends too much time on their digital devices. For many, the thought of life without a smartphone is surreal. While technology makes everyone’s life a little bit easier, a new study suggests that the blue light emitted from smartphones, laptops, and televisions can lead to macular degeneration and blindness. If the research holds true, we can all benefit from moderating our smartphone exposure.
The North Carolina Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons and the American Academy of Ophthalmology are observing Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month this August. The goal is to encourage parents to recognize the importance of vision and learning how to protect children's eyes for the future.
A team of researchers at the University of Utah discovered a single gene that influences the wing pattern of pigeons and human blindness. Variations in the gene mentioned above decide which of the four different feather patterns a pigeon will develop. The genetic research on pigeon wing patterns revealed a link to humans living with blindness.
Patrick Antaki, a former Olympian and defense contractor, is working on a device that helps older people living with blindness resulting from macular degeneration and diabetes. The Evergaze seeBoost helps the elderly see better, allowing users to sew, read or notice facial cues. seeBoost rests on a person's reading glasses and significantly magnifies what is in front of the wearer. 
There is a common belief that blind people experience heightened auditory and olfactory abilities, hearing and smell. However, a new study indicates that blind people have more of a challenge determining the location where sounds originate. The researchers found that such people needed additional timing cues to accurately decide the location of sounds played from a line of speakers. 
A new foreign film titled “Ya Veremos,” centers on a young boy named Santi who is going to have surgery that will either fix his visual impairment or result in permanent blindness. His parents ask the boy to make a list of all the things he would like to see before the big day, just in case the operation doesn’t go as planned. The film was released on August 3, 2018, and will be in American theaters on August 31.
Those living with macular degeneration can experience blurred vision or 'blind spots,' but a new virtual reality headset expands the user's peripheral vision and cancels out the blind spots. IrisVision relies on a Samsung Galaxy smartphone to record what the wearer sees and then it zooms in to make the blind spots disappear. The result: vision acuity goes from 20/400 to as high as 20/30. IrisVision was created by scientists at Johns Hopkins, The Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind, and UC Berkeley.
Do you like Indian food? If so, it may be that you are a fan of a colorful spice called turmeric. The bright orange powder has long been thought to have healing properties, and it turns out that it could prove beneficial for people living with blindness. More than 60 million people are living with deteriorating vision across the globe. New research suggests that the progression of vision loss in people with glaucoma could be slowed by administering eye-drops made from turmeric.
One of the planet’s premier keyboardists, composer, producer, and recording engineer has lived with macular degeneration since he was a young boy; but, blindness doesn't deter Rave Tesar! In fact, Rave started performing professionally by the age of 15 and was working full-time by 18. Tesar will be teaching a free master class on the keyboard with fellow musician Jason Miles on Sept. 30.
Researchers from Pakistan, USA, and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, investigated a recessive genetic disorder that prevents the eyes from developing and leads to childhood blindness, and they believe they have found the cause. The research led to the discovery of pathogenic mutations in a new gene, MARK3. The findings, published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, could lead to diagnostic services and personalized treatments for the blinding genetic disorder. 
This Fall, students in Roanoke City, Virginia, schools will undergo testing for color blindness, thanks to a local mother who states that Color Vision Deficiency could be a real problem in the classroom. Elizabeth Martin’s eldest son is diagnosed with color blindness. The condition makes doing classroom work a real challenge.
There are more than 4 million adults and nearly half-a-million children who are blind or have severely impaired vision in the United States. The Faster Treatments and Cures for Eye Diseases Act is a critical piece of legislation for everyone living with blindness and visual impairment. The bipartisan bill, if passed, will fund translational research, advanced treatments, and cures for blinding eye diseases.
What is the Braille Challenge? It is an academic competition for the blind or visually impaired; it was created to encourage students living with vision loss to master their braille literacy skills. Honing such skills can pay immensely for academia and employment. This month, Shianne Ramsey (8) competed as a finalist in the National Braille Challenge in Los Angeles. Thanks to Shianne’s hard work and dedication, she reads at a fifth-grade level even though she starts the third-grade this fall.
July is UV Safety Month, an excellent time to practice protecting your eyesight from the sun’s damaging rays. Many people are unaware of just how harmful ultraviolet rays are to the eyes; overexposure can result in cataracts, macular degeneration, and photokeratitis. Each of the above conditions can result in vision loss.
A new study suggests that people who undergo cataract surgery mitigate the risk of traffic accidents, according to a report published in JAMA Ophthalmology. The researchers found that after the operation, cataract surgery patients were 9 percent less likely to experience a car crash. However, Dr. Kevin Miller of the Stein Eye Institute and the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, says that not everybody with a cataract needs surgery or has a difficult time driving.
A study involving more than 2,000 Australian adults aged over 50 reveals that people who regularly eat oranges are less likely to develop macular degeneration. Researchers followed the participants for 15 years and found that the individuals who ate one serving of oranges per day, had more than a 60% reduced risk of developing late macular degeneration.
In the final days of June, California State Parks announced that the organization has begun rehabilitating the Three Senses Trail, or “Braille Trail.” Located at Calaveras Big Trees State Park, the Braille Trail was commissioned in 1976 for the blind and the visually impaired; the update will include the addition of new interpretive stations. The Arnold Lions Club and the Calaveras Big Trees Association (CBTA) are working with California State Parks on the project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2019.
Bobby Thomson’s “shot heard ‘round the world” home run in 1951, which won the New York Giants the pennant, was the last thing Ed Lucas remembers seeing before he lost his vision. While blindness was a setback for Lucas, he says it isn’t a handicap; since then, Ed became the first blind graduate of Seton Hall University. If that were not impressive enough of a resume, Lucas is the first father to win custody of children from a sighted wife. Ed Lucas has had 38 books published and has written more than 20,000 articles about baseball.
Living with visual impairments or blindness may slow down one’s life, but not to a full stop. A group of blind and visually impaired cyclists, “Team Sea to See,” took part in the 2018 Race Across America. The race takes riders from the West to the East in under nine days. The brave bike riders say, “I choose for my blindness to be an asset.”
Brothers Bradford and Bryan Manning came up with a brilliant idea one day after shopping at Bloomingdales. On that day the two young men bought the same shirt. The fascinating aspect of this occurrence is that both Bradford and Bryan are blind; they made their choice of shirt not on aesthetics but by the softness of the fabric. Their idea: design and create clothing that caters to people’s sense of touch rather than sight. Their profits will go toward fighting blindness.
Mirabile dictu! Researchers at Washington State University created a prototype that could reduce the cost of treating the two leading causes of blindness in America, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The prototype is called a microneedle array; apt considering the device consists of a cluster of hundreds of tiny needles. The technology is essentially a patch for the eye which could make delivering drugs to the eye more effectively than the three current techniques: laser therapy, direct eye injections, and eye drops.
eSight is the only clinically validated device that “enables those living with vision loss to see, be mobile, and engage in virtually any activity of daily living.” The revolutionary device completely changed the life of Joel Gomez, 14, who was born with legal blindness. eSight helps him see as far as he desires, whereas previously he could barely see five feet ahead. Thanks to gracious donors, Gomez was able to acquire a pair which goes for the daunting price of $10,000. Desiring to give back, Joel is working with eSight to give a device to 13 kids from around the world struggling with blindness. The movement is called #TogetherWeSee.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is working on a book about kids with “life challenges,” young people living with conditions like attention deficit disorder, autism, blindness, and diabetes. Justice Sotomayor was diagnosed with diabetes as a child, so the subject matter of her book is something she acutely understands. Her new book is set in a garden and is about "a bunch of us kids working on creating the beauty of a garden."
In 2016, fireworks sent 11,100 Americans to the emergency room, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Not surprisingly, 68 percent of incidents took place around Independence Day. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that approximately one-third of the 1,000 eye-related firework injuries in 2017 resulted in permanent blindness. Prevent Blindness argues that there isn’t a safe way to use fireworks and that the only legal fireworks should be those used by licensed operators in public displays.
Weeds are the bane of most gardeners’ existence. Each summer, hours and hours are spent pulling the unwelcome guests from lawns and gardens, an annoyance to be sure. People who are living in Virginia, please be advised that if you encounter Giant Hogweed—an invasive species that originates from Asia—exercise extreme caution. The plant can grow as high as 14 feet, and its sap makes skin sensitive to sunlight causing severe burns. If the Hogweed sap gets into your eyes, it can result in blindness 
New research analyzing 80 eye surgeries on people living with concurrent wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts indicates that the procedure is safe and does not worsen the symptoms of AMD. The study shows that patients receiving anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment for AMD are not at risk from cataracts surgery. The findings stymie concerns that the inflammation caused by the operation could make macular degeneration worse.
An innovative laser surgery, called collagen crosslinking, helps extend Airmen’s careers. The procedure corrects degenerative eye diseases, such as keratoconus and corneal ectasia. Those affected by the above conditions are not commissioned unless they receive a waiver; and, pilots are restricted from flying. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved collagen crosslinking in 2016 for the treatment of progressive keratoconus.
