Increase In Number Of Retinitis Of Prematurity Cases Reported and Extremely Rare Gene Variants As Potential Cause Of Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Dr. Darius Moshfeghi (Stanford University Byers Eye Institute - Palo Alto, CA)

Dr. Anand Swaroop (National Eye Institute - Bethesda, MD)

Dr. Darius Moshfeghi, Chief of the Retina Division at the Stanford University Byers Eye Institute, discusses retinopathy of prematurity and the increase in the number of its reported cases.

Dr. Anand Swaroop, Senior Investigator and Chief of the National Eye Institute Neurobiology Neurodegeneration and Repair Laboratory, explains how extremely rare gene variants of proteins, C8-alpha and C8-beta, could alter the stability of the membrane attack complex (MAC) and lead to age-related macular degeneration. 

4/30/2023 Podcast (Click Image Below) 

Mice Cones Retaining Function In Degenerating Retinas and Gene Therapy For A Form of Leber Congenital Amaurosis

Dr. A.P. Sampath (UCLA - Los Angeles, CA)

Dr. Paul Yang (Oregon Health and Science University - Portland, OR)

Dr. A.P. Sampath, Grace and Walter Lantz endowed chair in ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute and professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles, discusses research showing how cones in degenerating retinas in mice retain function, showing sensitivity to light.

Then, Dr. Paul Yang, an associate professor of ophthalmic genetics and ocular immunology at Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, explains how gene therapy can be used to deliver working copies of the gene, GUCY2D, to treat a form of Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA).

4/16/2023 Podcast (Click Image Below)  

Cadence Tactile GraphicsTablet and Gene Therapy For Retinitis Pigmentosa

Cadence Tactile Graphics Tablet (Tactile Engineering - Lafayette, IN)

Dr. Alfred Lewin (University of Florida - Gainesville, FL)

Dave Schleppenbach, Chief Executive Officer of Tactile Engineering, in Lafayette, Indiana, discusses the Cadence Tablet, which is a portable device that enables the blind to feel images, animation, and pages of Braille text.

Dr. Alfred Lewin, professor emeritus in the University of Florida College of Medicine's department of molecular genetics and microbiology and former Shaler-Richardson Professor of Ophthalmic Sciences explains how gene therapy has been used to treat retinitis pigmentosa in mice.

4/9/2023 Podcast (Click Image Below)