21 February, 2023
Hot Off The Press
Here are some information snippets for you from the promising world of Inherited Retinal Disease research:
- 3 small studies trialling voretigene neparvovec for RPE65 Retinitis Pigmentosa didn’t help acuity but did improve light sensitivity and patient mobility. Every little bit helps. (Study 1) (Study 2) (Study 3)
- A phase 1/2a optogenetics (MCO-010) trial for advanced RP, had good outcomes, which is unusual apparently with optogenetics. It also seemed safe which makes us optimistic. (Read more)
- There was an Anti VEG-F trial for wet AMD where 2 initial loading doses were given, after which the eye injections were given as deemed necessary on optical CT scan rather than routinely. This meant less injections for the patients, with just about the same outcomes. Interesting and could be the way of the future. (Read more)
- Six-month data from the phase 2 STARLIGHT optogenetic trial to restore vision in blind people with Stargardts should be available this year. (Read more)
- And another Stargardts trial, this time a Phase 3 clinical trial of a visual cycle modulator emixustat seems positive. (Read more)
That’s all for this edition folks.
Meanwhile, remember to keep eating a wide variety of whole foods and doing lots of exercise. These are the keys to strengthening the body’s resilience to all types of disease, inherited retinal disease included.
Guest writer – Dr Catherine Civil
My name is Dr Catherine Civil. I have been associated with Retina Australia since the early 2000s. At that time, they were called WARPF, or the WA Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation. WARPF were raffling a car in a shopping centre, and it caught my eye because my dad and my uncle both had Retinitis Pigmentosa. Being a doctor and a parent, I had a particular interest and awareness, not just of the disease, but of the fact that there was a significant risk that I or my children or my relatives might have inherited it.
I turned up at an AGM and found myself on the Board and engaged in fundraising. I spent several years on the Board and met some wonderful people, and I was even Chairman for a couple of years. When I left, I started writing the “Hot off the Press” research update column for the newsletter.
I arrived from the UK in the early 1990s with my husband and twin baby girls to live in Perth for a year for a bit of sunshine and fun, and we find ourselves still having fun in WA 30 years later, and with a grown son as well.
