Gene Therapy Research Supported by the Foundation Fighting Blindness

Watch this video which describes the important research supported by The Foundation Fighting Blindness, where Louis Kreisberg is the CEO. Through the developing techniques of gene therapy, the hope to cure disease and end blindness can be realized.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness and Stem Cell Therapy

Louis Kreisberg is the CEO of The Foundation Fighting Blindness, which funds pioneering research into the causes and cures of illnesses which result in blindness.

One example of up-to-the-minute research funded by the FFB is stem cell transplantation therapy. Many people engaged in finding a cure for blindness have called the transplantation of photo-receptors in order to restore sight as the “holy grail” of possible therapies to cure blindness. The reason is that this therapy has the potential to help people who are living with blindness, but for many difference reasons.

It has already been shown to work in the laboratory where lost photo-receptors have been replaced by injecting stem-cell-derived photo-receptors into the eye. Yet, although much progress has been made with this line of research, there are still many obstacles standing in the way of a cure.

One such hurdle is the inability to distinguish between the newly injected cone photo-receptors from the cone receptors that are already in the eye and not functioning properly. One researcher, Dr. Valerie Wallace, has made a breakthrough towards solving this problem.

“There is considerable work being done on exploring rod cell transplantation in the eye, which has formed the basis for much of the field to this point. Although this work is of significant value to understanding photo-receptor transplantation, replacing a cell type that is responsible for low-light (night) vision in one’s periphery is not an end-point goal of this field,” explained Dr. Phil Nickerson, a collaborator on the project.

New Procedure for FED Could Reduce Need for Corneal Transplants

Louis Kreisberg is the CEO of The Foundation Fighting Blindness, where the causes, cures and

prevention of eye diseases is the focus of ongoing research.

A minimally invasive procedure to treat one of the more common eye ailments, Fuchs endothelial dystrophy (FED) is proving to be at least as effective as the present standard of care, namely, a cornea transplant.

Researcher Kathryn Colby, MD, PhD, and others found that removing just a few square millimeters fo a single layer of cells on the inside of the cornea stimulated the rejuvenation of the nearby tissue, eliminating the need for a corneal transplant. For every four patients with FED who had the procedure, three experienced the restoration of clear vision. FED is the most frequent cause of corneal transplants in the US.

"It's too soon to call this a cure," Colby said. "We performed the first operation just over two years ago. But when it works, it's a wonderful thing. It's quick, inexpensive and it spares patients from having someone else's cells in their eyes, which requires local immunosuppression."

One patient who had the procedure described his recovery:

"Few things remind you as constantly as deteriorating vision," the patient recalled. "Your world steadily narrows as you lose the ability to see. But mine expanded again at the other end. I remember walking the dog at night right after the operation. Each night, the streetlights would be a little more in focus. You could see the improvement, night after night over the course of a few weeks, like the fog lifting out of London. It was cool. Really cool."