Dr. Randall Wong wrote about this device earlier in February, but I looked into its potential to truly save or preserve vision for those afflicted with the late stages of dry AMD.

I finally got permission to post the “Story behind the Story” about the Notal Vision at home device that has the potential to save or preserve vision for the thousands that have intermediate or advanced dry AMD. It can determine when those patients begin to convert to the very earliest stages of wet AMD, the stage when vision loss and blindness begins to occur. When the device is in wide-spread use, it will send a signal to one’s doctor that he/she should be seen immediately for treatment (with anti-VEGF drugs) to preserve vision before the disease progresses to a stage where vision is lost.

For the complete writeup, please see my online Journal.

I have non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) due to an ulcer that bled and dropped by hemoglobin and my blood pressure dropped. I have high cholesterol and high Triglycerides and border line to diabetes. I am legally blind. Can stem cell treatment help restore the optic nerve?

As a sufferer of AMD, I’m always inteerested in what’s new in research into my condition. Such as saffron. Is this recent researchto be taken seriously?

Would you recommend to people who have retinitis pigmentosa that they try saffron? If so, what would be the recommended dose?

Last April, as part of a roundup of emerging technologies for treating AMD, I wrote about the London Project to Cure Blindness. (see: AMD Update 5). The group are planning on using embryonic stem cells placed on a membrane and inserted into the back of the retina to regenerate a patient’s retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells to restore function. This treatment is intended to be used in both dry and wet AMD.

Recently I made contact with the team and asked for an update on their progress.

They sent back information about the current status of the program, telling me that they are about to move into safety studies, required by their health authorities prior to commencing human clinical trials, which they hope to begin in the first quarter of 2011.

For the complete report, please see AMD Update 7 on my online Journal.

The NuLens accommodating IOL (I think from Israel)is placed in the sulcus and uses an ingenious technology to create accomodation- a small pistin in the lens causes a gel to bulge forward, apparently similar to birds who have to focus underwater. A pilot study in Europe was successful. The IOL needs a 9mm incision now, but a sub-4mm one is in the works.

February’s Ophthalmology: Wearing glasses and patching 8 hours every other day was just as good as daily patching. It seems there is always another article that downplays the need for aggressive patching or even patching at all (atropine works great).

The Synchrony IOL looks promising- did just as well as Restor but without the disabling glare issue. Researchers detected almost 3D of accomodation- that’s pretty good. We’ll see when more surgeons implant these things how it really performs. I remain a little skeptical- hard to believe that the ciliary body can squeeze so much accommodation after so many years of atrophy.

A whopping 18% of these benign lesions, greater than 10mm, progress to melanoma! Who knew. Despite benign features, these nevi are much more prone to progress to melanoma and need to be monitored.

Infectious keratitis after LASIK is a drag but fortunately rare. In February’s Ophthalmology, researchers got great results- 93% better than 20/40, if the keratitis was treated promptly with early or late lifting/irrigation of the flap, and sometimes amputation of the flap. This should reassure patients about the safety of LASIK