Researchers have used MRI imaging to map visual brain activity in stroke survivors with sight loss that gives new hope for rehabilitation and recovery.
Researchers examine if a naturally occurring protein can be used to prevent sight loss from glaucoma
Apr 22 2021
Researchers funded by Fight for Sight, in partnership with The Spectacle Makers’ Charity and Glaucoma UK, are investigating if a naturally occurring protein in the body can be used to prevent sight loss from glaucoma.
Image Credit: Fight for Sight
The study, taking place at Cardiff University, is exploring if a neuroprotective agent called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) can be released in a controlled way from the blood when stimulated with an ultrasound as a targeted treatment for glaucoma.
There are 500,000 people in the UK with glaucoma, and it is the second leading cause of blindness in the world. Glaucoma is characterized by the loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and leads to irreversible sight loss. RGCs are located near the inner surface of the retina and are responsible for sending messages to the brain, allowing us to see. A key area of glaucom
A FATHER of two from Poole who is registered blind is running 250km in a bid to fund vital research into the genetic condition that is robbing him of his sight. Dean Argent, aged 35, will be hoping to complete the challenge, in aid of eye research charity Fight for Sight, by the end of January He was diagnosed with the rare genetic eye condition choroideremia in 2012, and has been told he d likely be blind within a few years. Dean said: “My two daughters are carriers of the faulty choroideremia gene so I hope that by the time they have children and sons of their own, there will be a treatment available.”