Acording to one article I read they can recognize people across a room. I would kill for that in an area that's loud like the bars here. Color, I dated a girl who loved to draw. I'd love to see color. Plus, you could still use the skills you have in conjunction with sight, I have light perception and I use it all the time. You don't lose anything, you gain a ton.
----- Original Message ----- From: "rich maroney" <mumralives@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <aarontech@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 11:35 PM Subject: [aarontech] Re: giving blind people their sight?
I'm not sure what you mean, "worth a bit of work". Personally I have noproblems navigating new areas. Colors, ehh, I wouldn't mind having to label my shirts to tell them apart, but I get by. I really don't think the people who received this treatment can tell that much to recognize a face just yet.I'm not saying this is a bad thing, having a cure for blindness, rather I find it funny that they'd show a person with limited sight struggling totravel and herald it as amazing, and then immediately show a competent blind person with a cane traveling with ease. As if just being able to see a tinybit is better than having to use the cane. -----Original Message-----From: aarontech-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:aarontech-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Michael Grunze Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 12:32 AM To: aarontech@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [aarontech] Re: giving blind people their sight?But color, recognizing people without needing to hear their voice, not beingdependent on people in a new location, that's worth a bit of work, isn't it?----- Original Message ----- From: "rich maroney" <mumralives@xxxxxxxxxxx>To: <aarontech@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 11:25 PM Subject: [aarontech] Re: giving blind people their sight?Heh, I saw this story on CNN the other day. They were showing clips of thepeople navigating the obstacle course, taking baby steps and staring intensely at the ground, scanning. Then they showed a blind man, who I happen to know, walking with a cane with no problems. Just seems funny that they herald the patients amazing ability to read the top two lines of an eye chart, while at the same time showing another blind person using a cane and not having any problems walking at all. -----Original Message----- From: aarontech-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:aarontech-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Valiant8086 (on laptop) Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 12:18 AM To: aarontech@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [aarontech] giving blind people their sight? Forwarded from the blind cool tech mailing list.----- Original Message ----- From: "Neal Ewers" <neal.ewers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>To: "Bct" <bct@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 2:18 PM Subject: [BCT] OT, giving blind people their sight?Gene therapy experiments improve vision in nearly blind By STEPHANIE NANO The Associated Press Sunday, April 27, 2008; 5:36 PM<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/27/AR2008042701>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/27/AR2008042701326_pf.html NEW YORK -- Scientists for the first time have used gene therapy to dramatically improve sight in people with a rare form of blindness, a development experts called a major advance for the experimental technique. Some vision was restored in four of the six young people who got thetreatment, teams of researchers in the United States and Britain reportedSunday. Two of the volunteers who could only see hand motions were able to read a few lines of an eye chart within weeks. "It's a phenomenal breakthrough," said Stephen Rose, chief research officerof the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which helped pay for one study doneat Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. If successful in larger numbers, experts said, the technique has the potential to reverse blindness from other kinds of inherited eye diseases."I think this is incredibly exciting," said Dr. Jean Bennett, a professorof ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania and a leader of thePhiladelphia study. "It's the beginning of a whole new phase of studies."The research was published online Sunday by the New England Journal of Medicine in conjunction with presentations at a medical meeting in Florida. The two teams of scientists, working separately, each tested gene replacement therapy in three patients with a form of a rare hereditary eyedisease called Leber's congenital amaurosis. There's no treatment for thedisease, which appears early in infancy and causes severe vision loss, especially at night. An estimated 2,000 Americans have the form of the disease they targeted, Bennett said. Gene therapy _ replacing faulty genes with a normal version _ has been studied in humans for over 15 years with limited success. The field suffered a setback with the 1999 death of Jesse Gelsinger, 18, in an experiment fora liver disorder at Penn. And some children treated for an immune disorder called the "bubble boy disease" later developed leukemia. The early results of the eye experiments should give the field a boost, some experts said. "I think it's really a big shot in the arm for gene therapy and for medicine in general," said Dr. Ronald Crystal, head of genetic medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. Each of the study participants had mutations in a gene that makes a protein needed by the retina, which senses light and sends images to the brain.Those without the gene gradually lose sight until they are blind in earlyadulthood.The retina itself stays in relatively good shape for a while, making it agood candidate for gene therapy, said Robin Ali, a professor at University College London, who led the British team. He likened the defective gene toa missing spark plug in a car engine. "The whole engine can be absolutely fine, but if it doesn't have a spark plug, the car's not going to work," said Ali. For the experiment, the scientists injected millions of copies of a working gene beneath the retina in the back of the eye. Only one eye was treated _ the worst one _ in case anything went wrong; the untreated eye was used for comparison. After the treatment, their eyesight and light sensitivity were measured periodically; mobility was tested in a maze or an obstacle course.All three of those treated in Philadelphia showed significant improvementin their vision, the researchers said. The volunteers _ two women, 19 and 26, and a man, 26 _ were from Italy, where they had been screened by researchers there. The longest follow-up was six months. Besides reading lines on an eye chart, they could see better in dim lit, Bennett said. "We were not expecting to restore their vision to 20/20," she said. In the British group, the treatment only worked in 18-year-old StevenHowarth, whose disease was less advanced than the other two _ a girl, 17;and a man, 23, who was followed for a year. Howarth said he used to rush home from school because he was worried about getting around in the dark, according to remarks issued by the university. "Now, my sight when it's getting dark or it's badly lit is definitely better. It's a small change _ but it makes a big difference to me," said Howarth, who lives in Bolton, near Manchester. After the injection last July, Howarth said his eye felt like sandpaper. Itwas better after a week, and his eyesight gradually improved. He was ableto negotiate a dimly lit maze in 14 seconds without bumping into any obstacles; before it took him 77 seconds with eight errors. There were no serious side effects reported in either group. One of the patients in Philadelphia developed a hole in his retina which didn't affect his eyesight. The researchers think the hole was related to the surgery and not the injected gene.The researchers said there was no evidence that the altered virus used toferry the gene into the retina's cells had traveled outside the eye to other areas of the body. The groups have each treated a fourth patient, including a preteen inEngland. The researchers hope to see better results with higher doses andin younger patients with less eye damage. The National Eye Institute is funding a third similar study at the University of Florida. The research in Philadelphia and London was paid for by a variety of government agencies and private foundations. An employee of Targeted Genetics Corp., which made the altered virus used in London, is a co-authorof their report. Four of the Philadelphia researchers, including Bennett,have either applied for or have patents related to gene therapy. Ali and another British researcher have also applied for a patent for the procedure. ___ AP Science Writer Malcolm Ritter contributed to this report. ___ On the Net: New England Journal of Medicine: <http://www.nejm.org/> http://www.nejm.orgNational Eye Institute: <http://www.nei.nih.gov/> http://www.nei.nih.govNeal Ewers Ravenswood Productions Madison Wisconsin Local phone: 608-277-1995 Toll Free: 888-544-8332 email: neal.ewers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Web: http://ravenswood.org <http://ravenswood.org/> FTP site: ftp://ftp.ravenswood.org <ftp://ftp.ravenswood.org/> Skype name: neal163 _______________________________________________ BCT mailing list BCT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://lists.blind-planet.com/listinfo.cgi/bct-blind-planet.com -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG.Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.9/1417 - Release Date: 5/6/20088:07 AMInternal Virus Database is out-of-date. 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