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Foundation Fighting Blindness
The mission of the Foundation Fighting Blindness is to fund research that will lead to the prevention, treatment and cures for the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases, including retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, Stargardt disease and related conditions. These diseases, which affect more than 10 million Americans and millions more throughout the world, often lead to severe vision loss or complete blindness. The Foundation Fighting Blindness was founded as the National Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation in 1971 by Gordon and Lulie Gund, Bernard and Beverly Berman, and other dedicated leaders to find cures for retinal degenerations at a time when very little was known about those vision-robbing diseases. Blind from retinitis pigmentosa, Gund is Chairman of the Foundation Fighting Blindness and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Gund Investment Corporation. He is a former majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers (National Basketball Association ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Columbia, Maryland
Columbia is a census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland. It is one of the principal communities of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. It is a planned community consisting of 10 self-contained villages. Columbia began with the idea that a city could enhance its residents' quality of life. Creator and developer James W. Rouse saw the new community in terms of human values, rather than merely economics and engineering. Opened in 1967, Columbia was intended to not only eliminate the inconveniences of then-current subdivision design, but also eliminate racial, religious and class segregation. Columbia proper consists only of that territory governed by the Columbia Association, but larger areas are included under its name by the U.S. Postal Service and the Census Bureau. These include several other communities which predate Columbia, including Simpsonville, Atholton, and in the case of the census, part of Clarksville. The census-designated place had a popula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retinoschisis
Retinoschisis is an eye disease characterized by the abnormal splitting of the retina's neurosensory layers, usually in the outer plexiform layer. Retinoschisis can be divided into degenerative forms which are very common and almost exclusively involve the peripheral retina and hereditary forms which are rare and involve the central retina and sometimes the peripheral retina. The degenerative forms are asymptomatic and involve the peripheral retina only and do not affect the visual acuity. Some rarer forms result in a loss of vision in the corresponding visual field.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company, 1990. Almost all cases are X-linked recessive and caused by a mutation in the retinoschisin gene (''RS1''). Classification *Hereditary **X linked juvenile retinoschisis **Familial foveal retinoschisis *Tractional *Exudative **Secondary to Optic disc pit *Degenerative **Typical **Reticular Degenerative retin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retinitis Pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visual field). As peripheral vision worsens, people may experience "tunnel vision". Complete blindness is uncommon. Onset of symptoms is generally gradual and often begins in childhood. Retinitis pigmentosa is generally inherited from one or both parents or rarely it can be caused by a miscoding during DNA division. It is caused by genetic miscoding of proteins in one of more than 300 genes involved. The underlying mechanism involves the progressive loss of rod photoreceptor cells that line the retina of the eyeball. The rod cells secrete a neuroprotective substance (Rod-derived cone viability factor, RdCVF) that protects the cone cells from apoptosis (cell death). However, when the rod cells die, this substance is no longer provided. This is generally followed by the loss of cone photorecept ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, some people experience a gradual worsening of vision that may affect one or both eyes. While it does not result in complete blindness, loss of central vision can make it hard to recognize faces, drive, read, or perform other activities of daily life. Visual hallucinations may also occur. Macular degeneration typically occurs in older people. Genetic factors and smoking also play a role. It is due to damage to the macula of the retina. Diagnosis is by a complete eye exam. The severity is divided into early, intermediate, and late types. The late type is additionally divided into "dry" and "wet" forms with the dry form making up 90% of cases. The difference between the two forms is the change of macula. Those with dry form AMD have drusen, ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dark Dining
Dark dining is the act of eating a meal without seeing the food that is being eaten. The basic concept is that the removal of vision enhances the other senses and increases gastronomic pleasure. Since 1999, specialised dark restaurants have opened in many parts of the world. Origin The first experience of dark restaurant took place in Paris, set up by Michel Reilhac and was called "Le gout du noir". This program started in 1997 and was followed by the opening of a temporary restaurant in the "Montorgeuil" district in Paris during the summer 1999. This program became in 2003 "Dans le Noir ?" founded by Edouard de Broglie, a French entrepreneur in cooperation with the blind foundation Paul Guinot. It became the first international chain of restaurant in the dark. The first permanent restaurant was '' Blindekuh'' (Blind man's buff in German), in Zurich, Switzerland. It was opened in September 1999 by a blind clergyman, Jorge Spielmann, who wished to convey the experience of blindne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Refsum Disease
Refsum disease is an autosomal recessive neurological disease that results in the over-accumulation of phytanic acid in cells and tissues. It is one of several disorders named after Norwegian neurologist Sigvald Bernhard Refsum (1907–1991). Refsum disease typically is adolescent onset and is diagnosed by above average levels of phytanic acid. Humans obtain the necessary phytanic acid primarily through diet. It is still unclear what function phytanic acid plays physiologically in humans, but has been found to regulate fatty acid metabolism in the liver of mice. Presentation Individuals with Refsum disease present with neurologic damage, cerebellar degeneration, and peripheral neuropathy. Onset is most commonly in childhood/adolescence with a progressive course, although periods of stagnation or remission occur. Symptoms also include ataxia, scaly skin (ichthyosis), difficulty hearing, and eye problems including retinitis pigmentosa, cataracts, and night blindness. In 80% of patie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Achromatopsia
Achromatopsia, also known as Rod monochromacy, is a medical syndrome that exhibits symptoms relating to five conditions, most notably monochromacy. Historically, the name referred to monochromacy in general, but now typically refers only to an autosomal recessive congenital color vision condition. The term is also used to describe cerebral achromatopsia, though monochromacy is usually the only common symptom. The conditions include: monochromatic color blindness, poor visual acuity, and day-blindness. The syndrome is also present in an ''incomplete'' form that exhibits milder symptoms, including residual color vision. Achromatopsia is estimated to affect 1 in 30,000 live births worldwide. Signs and symptoms The five symptoms associated with achromatopsia are: # Color blindness - usually monochromacy # Reduced visual acuity - uncorrectable with lenses # Hemeralopia – with the subject exhibiting photophobia # Nystagmus # Iris operating abnormalities The syndrome is typi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cone Dystrophy
A cone dystrophy is an inherited ocular disorder characterized by the loss of cone cells, the photoreceptors responsible for both central and color vision. Presentation The most common symptoms of cone dystrophy are vision loss (age of onset ranging from the late teens to the sixties), sensitivity to bright lights, and poor color vision. Therefore, patients see better at dusk. Visual acuity usually deteriorates gradually, but it can deteriorate rapidly to 20/200; later, in more severe cases, it drops to "counting fingers" vision. Color vision testing using color test plates (HRR series) reveals many errors on both red-green and blue-yellow plates. Dystrophy of the rods and cones Dystrophy of the light-sensing cells of the eye may also occur in the rods as well, or in both the cones and the rods. A type of rod-cone dystrophy—where rod function decline is typically earlier or more pronounced than cone dystrophy—has been identified as a relatively common characteristic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bardet–Biedl Syndrome
Bardet–Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a ciliopathic human genetic disorder that produces many effects and affects many body systems. It is characterized by rod/cone dystrophy, polydactyly, central obesity, hypogonadism, and kidney dysfunction in some cases. Historically, slower mental processing has also been considered a principal symptom but is now not regarded as such. Signs and symptoms Bardet–Biedl syndrome is a pleiotropic disorder with variable expressivity and a wide range of clinical variability observed both within and between families. The most common clinical features are rod–cone dystrophy, with childhood-onset night-blindness followed by increasing visual loss; postaxial polydactyly; truncal obesity that manifests during infancy and remains problematic throughout adulthood; varying degrees of learning disabilities; male hypogenitalism and complex female genitourinary malformations; and renal dysfunction, a major cause of morbidity and mortality. There is a wide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leber Congenital Amaurosis
Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a rare inherited eye disease that appears at birth or in the first few months of life. It affects about 1 in 40,000 newborns. LCA was first described by Theodor Leber in the 19th century. It should not be confused with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy, which is a different disease also described by Theodor Leber. One form of LCA was successfully treated with gene therapy in 2008. Signs and symptoms The term congenital refers to a condition present from birth (not acquired) and amaurosis refers to a loss of vision not associated with a lesion. However, beyond these general descriptions, the presentation of LCA can vary, because it is associated with multiple genes. LCA is typically characterized by nystagmus, sluggish or absent pupillary responses, and severe vision loss or blindness. Genetics It is usually autosomal recessive; however, importantly for family planning, it is sometimes autosomal dominant. It is a disorder thought to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Choroideremia
Choroideremia (; CHM) is a rare, X-linked recessive form of hereditary retinal degeneration that affects roughly 1 in 50,000 males. The disease causes a gradual loss of vision, starting with childhood night blindness, followed by peripheral vision loss and progressing to loss of central vision later in life. Progression continues throughout the individual's life, but both the rate of change and the degree of visual loss are variable among those affected, even within the same family. Choroideremia is caused by a loss-of-function mutation in the ''CHM'' gene which encodes Rab escort protein 1 (REP1), a protein involved in lipid modification of Rab proteins. While the complete mechanism of disease is not fully understood, the lack of a functional protein in the retina results in cell death and the gradual deterioration of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), photoreceptors and the choroid. As of 2019, there is no treatment for choroideremia; however, retinal gene therapy clinical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
