Braille Live

A RESOLUTION recognizing National Mesothelioma

Awareness Day as September 26.
WHEREAS, mesothelioma is a deadly cancer which invades the lining of the lungs or abdomen until it destroys the vital organs and is directly related to asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma kills 3,000 Americans each year, and according to the National Cancer Institute, about 2,000 new cases are diagnosed annually in the United States; Read the rest of this entry »

Phishing Down, Are Scammers Changing Tactics?
SAN FRANCISCO
Internet criminals might be rethinking a favorite scam for stealing people’s personal information. A report being released Wednesday by IBM Corp. shows a big drop in the volume of “phishing” e-mails, in which fraud artists send what looks like a legitimate message from a bank or some other company. If the recipients click on a link in a phishing e-mail, they land on a rogue Web site that captures their passwords, account numbers or any other information they might enter.

IBM’s midyear security report found that phishing accounted for just 0.1 percent of all spam in the first six months of this year. In the same period in 2008, phishing made up 0.2 percent to 0.8 percent of all spam.
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Artificial Cornea Restores Vision

Cornea/External Disease DURHAM, NC – A severe allergic reaction to a medication robbed Elma Phifer of her vision two decades ago when she was 39. The reaction scarred her corneas and reduced the ability of her eyes to soothe their damaged surfaces by remaining moist.

She came to rely upon family and friends to help her do many of the activities people with normal vision sometimes take for granted. Now, twenty years and several life milestones later, Elma is able to see again, thanks to advances in ophthalmology research.
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Tiny Cup Attached To Eye Improves Drug Delivery For Retinal Diseases
Tiny Cup Attached To Eye Improves Drug Delivery For Retinal Diseases
Article Date: 08 Aug 2009 – 1:00 PDT

A new drug delivery system that uses a tiny silicone cup filled with any drug and sealed to the outer surface (episclera) of the eyeball may offer a more effective method for the sustained delivery of medicines for retinal and vitreous diseases, according to a new report by A. Linn Murphree, M.D, director of the Retinoblastoma Program in The Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Dr. Murphree is also Professor of Ophthalmology and Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and attending physician at the Doheny Eye Institute.
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Complications Of Longstanding Type 1 Diabetes Halved By Intensive Glucose Control
Article Date: 07/28/2009

Near-normal control of glucose beginning as soon as possible after diagnosis would greatly improve the long-term prognosis of type 1 diabetes , concludes a study published in the July 27, 2009, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine , which updates information about the clinical course of type 1 diabetes. The study also found that the outlook for people with longstanding type 1 diabetes has greatly improved in the past 20 years due to a better understanding of the importance of intensive glucose control as well as advances in insulin formulations, insulin delivery, glucose monitoring, and the treatment of cardiovascular risk factors.
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Developing Gene Therapy To Fight Blindness
Developing Gene Therapy To Fight Blindness
Article Date: 07/31/2009

An international team of scientists and clinicians from the United States and Saudi Arabia are working to develop gene therapy for treating a rare, hereditary retinal disease. The therapy has been shown to restore lost vision in animal models of retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Their work is being funded in part by a $1.5 million grant from the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research in Saudi Arabia, where the recessive gene mutation that leads to the eye disease RP has been found in children from several families.
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University of Florida Scientists Program Blood Stem Cells To Become Vision Cells
UF Scientists Program Blood Stem Cells To Become Vision Cells
Article Date: 31 Jul 2009 – 6:00 PDT
University of Florida researchers were able to program bone marrow stem cells to repair damaged retinas in mice, suggesting a potential treatment for one of the most common causes of vision loss in older people.

The success in repairing a damaged layer of retinal cells in mice implies that blood stem cells taken from bone marrow can be programmed to restore a variety of cells and tissues, including ones involved in cardiovascular disorders such as atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease.
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Blind Women Help Detect Brest Cancer
CNN.com Health NewsBlind women help detect brest cancer
By Nick Wade and Joana Krause-Palfner July 30, 2009 — Updated 1010 GMT (1810 HKT)

LONDON, England (CNN) Blind women are being trained to use their sensitive touch to help detect breast cancer earlier and more precisely than doctors.

The program, called “Discovering Hands,” is the brainchild of German gynecologist Dr. Frank Hoffmann. Two years ago, he created Braille strips as a system of orientation, allowing the blind to carry out breast examinations. Using these strips blind women are trained to become Medical Tactile Examiners (MTUs) because they are more able to detect smaller lumps than sighted doctors.
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Sustained-Release Drug-Dispensing Contact Lens Could Ease Treatment Of Glaucoma
Sustained-Release Drug-Dispensing Contact Lens Could Ease Treatment Of Glaucoma And Other Conditions
Article Date: 23 Jul 2009 – 0:00 PDT
Taking eye drops multiple times a day can be difficult for patients to do, and because of blinking and tearing, as little as 1 to 7 percent of the dose is actually absorbed by the eye. Now, researchers led by Daniel Kohane, MD, PhD, director of the Laboratory for Biomaterials and Drug Delivery at Children’s Hospital Boston, have developed special contact lenses that can gradually dispense a constant amount of medication to the eye, at adjustable rates. Read the rest of this entry »

Treatment That Significantly Slows Progression Of Eye Damage In Persons With Type 1 Diabetes
Article Date: 03 Jul 2009 – 0:00 PDT
University of Minnesota Medical School researcher Michael Mauer, M.D., has found a treatment that significantly slows the progression of eye injury in people with type 1 diabetes , a common complication caused by this disease. By administering an antihypertensive, medication commonly prescribed to treat high blood pressure, Mauer and colleagues were able to slow progression of diabetic eye damage in more than 65 percent of participants involved in the study.
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