As noted by both Drs. Phil Rosenfeld and Carmen Puliafito, who have used the new software, this new diagnostic tool will play an important role in assessing and speeding the development of  new treatments for both dry and wet AMD, that are being researched and brought to the market.

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First, the company said that a peer-reviewed publication of clinical results from its first patients treated at UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute had been published online by the UK’s The Lancet. The study reported on the four-month results of a safety study initiated in human patients last July. In that study, one eye of a patient with Stargardt’s macular dystrophy (SMD), and another with the dry form of AMD were given doses of human embryonic stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. After four months, no safety problems had been observed and vision improvements were noted in both patients.

The second event was the announcement that the first patient had been treated with stem cells in the UK arm of the Stargardt’s study, at Moorfields Eye Hospital on January 20th.

For the whole story, please follow this link.

I have put together a table in which I list the fourteen clinical trials that I know about in the use of gene therapy in treating ophthalmic disease. Half of the trials are aimed at treating Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), while three are for treating the wet form of AMD; one is underway for treating Choroideremia; one for Stargardt’s Disease; and two are aimed at different forms of retinitis pigmentosa (Autosomal Recessive RP and Usher Syndrome 1b).

In addition, I show at least twenty four clinical trials in either the pre-clinical (animal study) mode, or a couple in the IND-preparation mode. That is close to forty clinical trials using gene therapy to treat ophthalmic diseases.

To read more about this important method for treating ophthalmic diseases, please follow this link.

Cenecor (J&J)  has an active trial for Dry AMD underway at both Retina Institute of CA and at Wills Eye.

There are several trials looking at the corneal surface – one by CellSeed France (being done in Germany); one by a Spanish Clinic at three hospitals in Spain; and two at Japanese University clinics. And finally, there is one trial underway looking at optic nerve atrophy in China.

To see the complete list please follow this link.

The first two patients have received embryonic stem cell derived retinal pigment epithelial cells (hESC-derived RPE) and  the company has been authorized to treat the next two patients in the UCLA study, while the first patient will be treated in the UK study in the upcoming week(s), while additional patients will be treated at UCLA in the same time frame.

To read more about these groundbreaking studies please follow this link.

HMR59 was developed at Tufts University and subsequently licensed to Hermera Biosciences.

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However, comprehensive epidemiological, clinical and etiological features of SS have never been specifically addressed so far.

An upcoming study in France is aiming to document the epidemiological, clinical, and etiological features of SUSAC’s Syndrome by having all SS cases retrospectively reported in France since the last 20 years, and all new cases prospectively observed, reviewed by a group of expert internists, neurologists and neuroradiologists who will validate each diagnosis. The hope is that the exhaustive and systematic analysis of each case will help to better define different aspects of the disease such as the incidence and prevalence, the clinical presentation, the diagnostic modalities and the impact of treatments.

Click here to read more about the trial.

To read his remarks, please follow this link.

I’m in the planning process of putting together a comprehensive article on this subject.

To read about the news release, please follow this link.

Results for the first twelve patients treated in the GA clinical trial were reported. While the surgical technique used is complex, of the 12 patients treated, six had improved vision; four gained +4 lines, while 2 gained +6 lines. Of the remaining patients, 2 had retinal detachments and 1 lost vision because of macular pucker/loss of traction.

To read further details, please follow this link.