News and Announcements
Date	Description	Type
07.01.10	Research Breakthrough Offers Hope To Millions With Retinitis Pigmentosa EU-funded scientists have succeeded in awakening dormant vision cones, an achievement that may lead to saving millions of people from going blind.	Research
06.24.10	Patient Handbook on Stem Cell Therapies The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is very concerned that stem cell therapies are being sold around the world before they have been proven safe and effective.	Announcements
06.17.10	Usher 1b Protein Better Understood Researchers at the University of Leeds have discovered that the myosin 7 motor protein moves and works in a different way from many other myosins.	Announcements
06.17.10	Aminoglycosides Have Promise as Usher Treatment There are several types of genetic mutations involved in Usher syndrome, including nonsense mutations. Aminoglycocides may suppress this type of mutation.	Announcements
06.14.10	Genetic Modifier In Usher Syndrome Dr Hanno Bolz says that his team's research challenges the traditional view that USH was inherited as a single gene disorder, and shows that it may result from at least two different genetic mutations.	Research
05.27.10	Retina from Stem Cells UC Irvine researchers have created a retina from human embryonic stem cells, the first time they've been used to create a three-dimensional tissue structure.	Research
05.17.10	Emma Handford Emma is married and lives with her hubby Mike and 2 cats, Jammy and Jinx, in the sometimes sunny England. She decided to start blogging to tell others of how she's coped so far suffering from Ushers Syndrome.	Blog
05.03.10	Usher Syndrome Family Conference Registration is now open for the second annual Usher Syndrome Family Conference in Seattle, WA.	Announcements
04.13.10	Lutein, Vitamin A Combo Fights Retinitis Pigmentosa BOSTON—Providing retinitis pigmentosa patients with lutein plus vitamin A palmitate slowed the loss of midperipheral vision, according to a study out of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School (Arch Ophthalmol. 2010;128(4):403-11)	Research
04.10.10	Gene Therapy for Mouse Vision Gene delivery to mitotic and postmitotic photoreceptors via compacted DNA nanoparticles results in improved phenotype in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa	Gene Therapy
04.06.10	Orphan Drug Designation for UshStat Oxford BioMedica, a U.K. partner of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, has received orphan drug designation from the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for their emerging Usher syndrome gene therapy known as UshStat.	Gene Therapy
03.25.10	Sign Language Webinar A webinar on sign language is part of a new series presented by the National Consortium on Deafblindness and state deafblind projects. Thursday April 15, 2010 from 3:00 - 5:00 PM EDT	Announcements
03.25.10	Usher Study Group The 15th Usher Study Group will take place just before the Acquired Deafblindness Network conference in Aalborg, Denmark, September 27 - 28th, 2010.	Announcements
03.20.10	Infecting the Blind with Sight Berkeley professor of neurobiology, John Flannery, is developing ways to cure genetic diseases of the retina.	Gene Therapy
03.18.10	Learning to Navigate Blindness & Hearing Loss Chrissy, an adult with Usher Syndrome, blogs to keep friends and family informed about her life for the next 7 months or so of blindness training at the Colorado Center for the Blind.	Blog
03.18.10	Subretinal Implant Restores Unprecedented Level of Vision to Blind Patients REUTLINGEN, Germany - (Business Wire) Retina Implant, AG, a leading developer of subretinal implants for the visually impaired, today announced scientific revelations discovered during the company’s first human clinical trial. Read more: http://www.ear	Retinal Implants
03.15.10	Molly Watt - Age 15 Molly Watt is a teenager in Britain with Usher Type II. She's made a number of videos on Usher and maintains a Facebook page for Usher teens.	Blog
03.13.10	Two high-tech approaches to restoring sight Two companies, one in Israel and one in the U.S., are taking different high-tech approaches to restoring sight to millions of people who've gone blind from disease.	Research
02.25.10	Stem cells restore sight in mouse model An international research team led by Columbia Univ. Medical Center successfully used mouse embryonic stem cells to replace diseased retinal cells and restore sight in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa.	Stem-cell Therapy
02.23.10	Usher Syndrome Family Conference The second annual Usher Syndrome Family Conference will be held July 9-10, 2010 in Seattle, Washington.	Announcements
02.16.10	New Retinal Implant Contains "Fertilizing" Enzymes Researchers have developed an implant that clears out the scar tissue of diseased retinas and seeds new ones. This quickly evolving procedure holds hope for millions of persons with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (ARMD).	Research
02.03.10	Cell-Based Treatment Preserves Vision in Usher Syndrome Model A research team funded by the Foundation Fighting Blindness has used cell transplantation to restore vision in a mouse model of Usher syndrome type 2A.	Research
01.28.10	Researchers Develop New Tool for Gene Delivery ScienceDaily (Jan. 28, 2010) — Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts have developed a new tool for gene therapy that significantly increases gene delivery to cells in the retina	Research
01.26.10	To Restore Vision, Implant Preps and Seeds a Damaged Eye ScienceDaily (Jan. 26, 2010) — Researchers trying to restore vision damaged by disease have found promise in a tiny implant that sows seeds of new cells in the eye.	Research
01.06.10	Solar Powered Retinal Implant First flexible solar powered retinal implant developed at Stanford.	Research