Good start to 2010

By Sharon Siddique
MDS President

On Saturday afternoon, March 27, 2010, about 50 MDS members gathered at the Auditorium at MD 11 at NUS. I think we were all pleasantly surprised at how easy the venue was to locate – a short walk from the main entrance to NUH.


Our first event of 2010 was a great success! Associate Professor Caroline Chee, Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist and Head of the Vitreoretinal Service at NUH, spoke on “Advances in the Treatment of Macular Degeneration”.

Prof Chee began her lecture by zeroing in on the retina. She then gave a very clear explanation of various eye diseases involving the macula, particularly AMD and MMD. Her descriptions included the types of treatments available for various conditions, and also stages of degeneration.


Personally I found her explanation of the very important group of Anti-VEGF drugs most interesting. As a class of drugs, they are useful in stopping the growth of new blood vessels, reducing swelling, and preventing bleeding. They including Lucentis and Avastin, as well as a new (still experimental) drug called VEGF-trap. Injected directly into the eye, they are particularly effective when bleeding occurs.


The Q and A session further demonstrated what useful insights Prof Chee could share with us. Her candor and caring attitude were much appreciated by all present. We rounded out the afternoon with a tea break and networking session. And Prof Chee was the last to leave! Thanks from all of us, Prof. Chee!

Shuttle Bus to NUH

Members can head to NUH by taking the free NUH shuttle bus from Dover MRT station. It leaves the station every 15 minutes on Saturday.

But the last bus is at 2pm, so the shuttle will not be available for the return trip from NUH to Dover MRT station.

Blind soldier 'sees' with his tongue

A British soldier left blind by a grenade in Iraq has told how his life has been transformed by ground-breaking technology that enables him to “see” with his tongue.


Lance Corporal Craig Lundberg, 24, can read words, make out shapes and walk without assistance thanks to a device developed in the United States which could revolutionise life for other blind people.

Lundberg, from Liverpool in northwest England, completely lost his sight after being struck by a rocket-propelled grenade while serving in Basra in 2007. Faced with a life of relying on a guide dog, he was chosen by the Ministry of Defence as the first person in Britain to trial the BrainPort device, which could revolutionise treatment for the blind.

It converts images into electrical pulses which are sent to the tongue, where they cause a tingling sensation. The different strength of the tingles can be interpreted so the user can mentally visualise their surroundings and navigate around objects.

The device consists of a tiny video camera attached to a pair of sunglasses which are linked to a plastic “lollipop” which the user places on their tongue to read the pulses. The image is created by presenting white pixels from the camera as strong stimulation, black pixels as no stimulation, and grey levels as medium levels of stimulation, although interpreting the images takes intensive training.

“It feels like licking a nine volt battery or like popping candy,” Lundberg explained Monday. “The camera sends signals down onto the lollipop and onto your tongue. You can then determine what they mean and transfer it to shapes. “You get lines and shapes of things. It sees in black and white so you get a two-dimensional image on your tongue – it’s a bit like a pins and needles sensation.

“It’s only a prototype, but the potential to change my life is massive. It’s got a lot of potential to advance things for blind people.”

Thanks to the device, he can now “pick up objects straight away. I can reach out and pick them up when before I would be fumbling around to feel for them.” Lundberg and British military surgeons have visited the US for training in how to use the device, which is being developed by a team led by Gale Pollock, a former major general in the US army.

It is hoped that with further refinement, the BrainPort could be used for other blind British military personnel. However, the future of Lundberg’s trusty guide dog seems secure for now. “There is no way I’m getting rid of my guide dog Hugo, though – I love him. “This (the BrainPort) is another mobility device, it’s not the be-all and end-all of my disability.”- AFP

Talk on MD treatments

Title : Advances in the Treatment of Macular Degeneration

Speaker: Associate Professor Caroline Chee, Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist.
Head of the Vitreoretinal Service, NUH

Location: Auditorium, Clinical Research Centre (CRC)
Level 1, Blk MD11, 10 Medical Drive
National University of Singapore
(Next to National University Hospital)

Date: March 27 (Sat), 2010
Time: 2 to 4pm

To register for the talk, call Anne at 6238-7387 or e-mail Sharon at alleyes@singnet.com.sg

Spice and saffron good for AMD?

Clinical trials in Italy and Australia have shown that the spice, saffron, can improve vision in people with AMD.The trial was conducted at Policlinico Gemelli in Italy by Professor Benedetto Falsini.

It was double blind and randomly controlled, involving 25 subjects over six months. Half the group was given a saffron pill for the first three months followed by a placebo the second three months.

The other half of the group followed the same protocol in reverse. All subjects in the first group experienced up to 2 lines of improvement in their vision while taking saffron pill, but the effect quickly disappeared when the dose was discontinued.

Researchers theorize that the improvement is a result of the anti-apoptotic properties of the spice. A 12-month dose-escalation trial is now underway at the Catholic University of Rome and the University of L'Aquila.

According to Richard Trevino, O.D., in a recent message to MDList, "It seems the research focused on improvements in vision function, rather than actual morphologic retinal improvements (eg OCT changes). This is similar to the research on lutein - it may improve the vision function of surviving cells but does not roll-back the damage that is already present.

"I have read," continued Dr. Trevino, "that the healing benefits of saffron are attributed to crocin, a carotenoid. So, rather than look for saffron pills, you may want to look for a crocin supplement, or just get more saffron in your diet."

Source: www.medindia.net

New Gene Delivery Tool

Researchers have developed a new tool for gene therapy that significantly increases gene delivery to cells in the retina compared to other carriers and DNA alone. The study was published in the January 2010 issue of The Journal of Gene Medicine by Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts (Rajendra Kumar-Singh, PhD, senior author).

A peptide called PEG-POD provides a safe and effective vehicle for transferring DNA into cells without using a virus, currently the most common means of DNA delivery. According to Dr. Kumar-Singh, PEG-POD protects DNA from damage in the bloodstream, allowing for gene therapy treatments that can be administered through an IV and directed to many other parts of the body.

The researchers used an in vivo model to compare the effectiveness of PEG-POD with two other carriers (PEG-TAT and PEG-CK30) and a control (injections of DNA alone). They found that gene expression in specimens injected with PEG-POD was far more effective than the other two carriers at 215 times greater than the control.

Events 2010 - Akan Datang

Dear MDS members,

Apologies for the delay in announcing the events for 2010. We are in the process of confirming venues for this year because our previous "home" at Alexandra Hospital will be moving to a new location in Yishun in the next few months.

Give us a little bit more time and notices will be placed here and on our website very soon. We are scheduling our first event to be in end February and we hope it will be an exciting year once again. Thanks.

Cheers,
MDS Exco