Lose a limb than lose eyesight?

An eye-opening stat: almost 70 per cent of people from around the world would rather give up 10 years of their life, or even sacrifice one of their limbs, than lose their eyesight. 

Three-fourths of people would rather have their pay cut in half than have a permanent 50 per cent decline in the quality of their vision.

Yet less than one third of those polled take the basic steps necessary to preserve eye sight, according to the "Barometer of Global Eye Health," a new global survey released on July 18 by Bausch + Lomb.

This first-of-its-kind public opinion poll sheds new light on the state of consumer awareness, attitudes and behaviors related to eye health. While 80 per cent of visual impairment is preventable if detected and treated early enough, according to the findings not enough people are getting regular eye exams and their reasons for doing so vary wildly.

Click here to read the full report. 

Mid-Year Double Bill 2012

The Macular Degeneration Society will again be having a mid-year double bill event, combining an exciting talk by Dr Mandeep Singh on “Progress in Stem Cell Treatments for Blindness” with our fifth Annual General Meeting.

This is the first time we are having a talk on stem cell treatments, which has been making strong progress in recent years in the treatment of blindness due to retinal degenerations.

Developments in novel therapies such as gene therapy, stem cell therapy and electronic retinal implants may result in new treatments for patients. 

This talk will focus on stem cell transplantation as a potential strategy to restore vision. What is the scientific evidence? Why do we want to use stem cells? Are there dangers and drawbacks? Will stem cells soon be available in the clinic?

The talk will be followed by our fifth AGM, which will be for paid-up members only. Yes, MDS is five!

Speaker: Dr Mandeep Singh

Date: Aug 11, 2012 (Sat)

Time: 2pm – 3.30pm

Venue: Seminar Room, Old Alexandra Hospital, Alexandra Road

The Speaker
Dr Mandeep Singh - MBBS(S'pore) MMed(Ophth) FRCSEd(Ophth) FAMS - is a Consultant in the Department of Ophthalmology, NUH, Singapore. He is currently pursuing a PhD in ophthalmology at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, investigating cell-based treatments for the retina.

After the talk, there will be a tea break from 3.30pm – 4.00pm, which will be followed by our AGM.

Please register for the event by calling Anne at 6238-7387 or e-mail Sharon at alleyes@singnet.com.sg

China tightens rules on stem cell

South China Morning Post

July 10, 2012

By Fiona Tam

A member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences who helped draft the mainland's first regulations on clinical trials of stem cell treatments says the authorities are considering centralising such treatment and research in 50 hospitals and institutes.
 

Dr Wu Zuze said yesterday the Ministry of Health planned to select 50 hospitals and institutes as research bases. Other hospitals or research institutes that wanted to conduct clinical trials could only do so inside the 50 bases after their applications had been approved by the health authorities.

"A guidance note on clinical trials involving stem cell treatments and administrative rules on research bases have already been finished by the Ministry of Health and are expected to be released soon," Wu said.

The move is part of a year-long crackdown on unscrupulous hospitals that had been cashing in on desperate patients with unproven therapies.

Launched by the ministry in January, the crackdown included a six-month ban on registering new stem cell projects.

Many foreigners have flocked to mainland hospitals for expensive but untested stem cell treatments that are offered far more freely than in the United States and other Western countries. Experts estimate several hundred hospitals and clinics are providing such treatments to mainland and foreign patients.

Ministry of Health spokesman Deng Haihua said in Beijing yesterday that although the ban on registering new stem cell projects had expired last week, unscrupulous hospitals and clinics would not be able to launch unproven treatments as easily as before.

"All unproven stem cell therapies launched by hospitals themselves have been halted," he said. "[Given China's technology level], it's far from turning stem cells into clinical and other applications.

"The ministry and the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) are working together to draft regulations on clinical trials involving stem cell treatments."

Deng said that only a few hospitals and research institutes were allowed to provide stem cell therapies after a joint team from the health ministry and SFDA, as well as provincial-level agencies, inspected regional hospitals, clinics and medical institutes.

In January, the ministry ordered that all unauthorised and unproved stem cell clinical trials and applications be immediately suspended, and that those approved by the SFDA should strictly follow the authorities' instructions, with changes to the trials and profit-seeking banned. It also said that all clinical trials should be free of charge.

Mainland media have reported that some patients died after receiving untested stem cell injections and some found their conditions worsened after receiving therapies that cost up to US$20,000.

Deng admitted at an earlier press conference that the health authorities had found many problems in the mainland's handling of stem cell treatments.

Click here to read an earlier report of the problems with stem cell treatment in China.

AMD up 25 per cent in US

Vision problems are on the rise in the United States, with age-related macular degeneration playing a driving role in the upsurge, according to a new report. 

AMD is up 25 per cent over the past 12 years. It means more than 2 milion American age 50 and above are now affected. 

The rise mirrors the ageing society. Other eye diseases like diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and cataracts have also gone up. 

Click here to read more.

Will computers make you blind?

As a child, your mother always said: "Don't sit so close to the TV, or you'll go blind!" But now almost everyone who works at a desk spends their entire day staring at a screen from distances that are most definitely not "mom-approved."

Do all those hours spent staring at your personal glowing portal to the digital world have an effect on your eyesight? Recent studies show that Mom might have known a thing or two after all. Eyestrain has also been linked with an increased risk of glaucoma.

Click here to read this wonderful article on how computers can strain your eyes and what you can do about it. No, the answer is not to stop using computers. We know that is impossible in today's world. :) 

Telescope implants available in US

Two years after a miniature telescope implant for end-stage macular degeneration sufferers was approved for use by the United States government, it is now more widely available across the US. 

To read about this implant works, click here to read our original post on this breakthrough device in 2010. 

For latest news on its growing availability in the US, click here to read more. 

Vitamins E and C no use for AMD?

For years, doctors, nutritionists and patients believe that vitamins E and C are helpful to reduce risk to macular degeneration. Now, a new study shows that we may all be wrong. 

The research was done on some 14,000 patients. They are healthy, with no macular degeneration. They were divided into four groups. Two groups take vitamins E and C every day for eight years. Another two groups take a placebo. 

After eight years, a total of 193 cases of AMD were diagnosed. But there was an equal number in both the vitamin E and C groups when compared to the placebo groups. Researchers concluded that longer-term vitamin E and C supplementation may have no effect on the risk for age-related macular degeneration. 

But the study is not conclusive and further research in this area is warranted. Click here to read more.